Several of the major political parties contesting in the upcoming general election have signed their nomination papers today (09).

According to the Election Commission, a total of 33 independent groups and political parties have already submitted nominations to contest the 2024 General Election.

The National People’s Power (NPP) alliance’s candidates signed their nomination papers at the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party headquarters in Pelawatte, while the ‘Samagi Jana Sandanaya’ signed their nominations at its office in Colombo.

The New Democratic Front (NDF) alliance, contesting under the symbol of the ‘Gas Cylinder,’ also signed their nomination papers today at the election operations office of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, located on Flower Road in Colombo.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) signed their nomination papers for the upcoming general election at their head office in Nelum Mawatha, Battaramulla.

The submission of nominations for the General Election commenced on October 4 and will continue until 12.00 noon on October 11.

In the meantime, the deadline for accepting postal vote applications had been extended to midnight tomorrow (October 10).

Additionally, the Election Commission announced that several foreign election observers have been invited to monitor the general election. 

Observers from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) who observed the previous presidential election, along with the representatives of 08 countries including Russia are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka.

Moreover, the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission has also requested permission from the Election Commission to monitor the upcoming general election.

The Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) are also scheduled to visit Sri Lanka to observe the election process.

The general election is to be held on November 14 while the new Parliament is scheduled to meet on November 21, 2024.