No Candidate Secured More Than 50% Votes in SL Presidential Election
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As the announcement of the presidential election winner was delayed, social media circles were flooded with false claims and misleading reports about the final election results. Many fake results were circulated, causing confusion and misinformation among the public. It is essential to rely on official sources and verified news outlets for accurate information about the election outcome.
Social Media Posts
Social media posts claim that Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the National People’s Power (NPP), received 50.03% of the total votes in the first round of counting, thereby winning the presidential election and becoming the ninth executive president of Sri Lanka.
Many Facebook users also shared the same information
Fact-Check:
Our investigation found these claims to be false. The Election Commission of Sri Lanka has clarified that no candidate, including Anura Kumara Dissanayake, secured more than 50% of the votes in the first round of vote counting.
Election Commission’s Clarification
The Election Commission of Sri Lanka made an official statement stating the reasons behind the second round of counting.
He clarified that the candidate who secured the most votes, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and the candidate with the second most votes, Sajith Premadasa, were only in the reckoning for the race to become the 9th President of Sri Lanka, as the preferential votes for these two candidates would now be marked from the rest of the 36 presidential candidates.
So, it's clear that no candidate, including Anura Kumara Dissanayake, achieved 50% of the vote in the first round and the final result after the second round of counting, as seen below.
Why the Second Round of Counting?
To be declared the winner, a presidential election candidate must secure more than 50% + 1 of the valid votes. Since no candidate achieved this threshold, the Election Commission is now counting the second preference votes as per the Sri Lankan electoral process. This is the first time in Sri Lanka's presidential election history since 1982 that the counting has entered the second round.
Here's a brief on how the second round of counting happens.
So what was the actual final result count, which led to the second counting
After the first round of counting, the official all-island result confirms that no candidate has achieved 50% of the votes. Anura Kumara, with 5,634,915 votes, secured 42.31%, followed by Sajith Premadasa, who got 4,363,035 votes, amounting to 32.76%. Ranil Wickramasinghe was in third place with 2,299,767 votes, amounting to 17.27%, as seen below.
Final Result After First Round of Counting
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Conclusion
The claim that Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the Sri Lankan presidential election by securing 50.03% of the votes in the first round of counting is false. The Election Commission has confirmed that no candidate received more than 50% of the votes in the first round, and counting second preferences is still underway. Voters should rely on official sources for updates rather than social media rumours.