International observers arrive in Sri Lanka for presidential election monitoring

International observers from EU and Commonwealth monitor Sri Lanka's presidential election

A group of election observers from the European Union and the Commonwealth have arrived in Sri Lanka to monitor the presidential election on Saturday (September 21, 2024).

A total of 116 representatives from various international election observation organisations have arrived in Sri Lanka to monitor the upcoming presidential election, the Newsfirst news portal reported on Friday (September 20, 2024)

Among the observers, 78 are from the European Union (EU), marking a substantial contingent from the EU election observation mission.

The EU has previously done election monitoring in Sri Lanka six times with the last being at the presidential election of 2019.

Additionally, 22 representatives from the Commonwealth have also arrived to participate in the monitoring activities.

The Asian Election Observation Network has sent nine observers, while seven representatives from South Asian regional countries have joined the election monitoring process this year, following an invitation from the Election Commission.

These international observers have been deployed across twenty-five districts to carry out their monitoring duties.