Parliamentary election for presidency: Four invalid votes, two MPs abstain

The process of counting votes commenced soon after the voting in the parliament to elect a new President concluded a short while ago. 

In the 225-member parliament, 223 had cast their votes while MPs Selvaraja Gajendran and G.G. Ponnambalam abstained from voting.

Voting commenced in the parliament this morning (July 20) after the proceedings in the House got underway at 10.00 a.m.

Before voting began, Secretary-General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake, who acts as the Returning Officer during the election, showed the empty ballot box to the members before sealing it.

The name of each MP including the Speaker and the Secretary-General was called based on the division list and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena cast the first vote, followed by Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe.