Lanka heads for third poll in four years

Sri Lanka is holding its third election in four years after President Kumaratunga sacked the legislature controlled by rival Wickremesinghe.

Sri Lanka is holding its third general election in four years after President Chandrika Kumaratunga sacked the legislature controlled by her arch political rival, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

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The April 2 election for the 13th parliament of Sri Lanka since independence from Britain in 1948 has attracted a record 6,024 candidates, up from the 4,943 hopefuls at the last election in December 2001.

Voting is to be conducted at 10,439 polling booths spread across the 22 electoral districts in this Indian Ocean island republic off the southern tip of India.

There are 24 recognised political parties and 192 independent political groups in the running. Some 12.89 million men and women over the age of 18 years are eligible to vote.

Voters elect 196 members on the basis of district proportional representation, while another 29 seats are allocated on national proportional representation.

Some 64,000 police and 40,000 public servants will be deployed to monitor and conduct the election. Two police officers will be allocated to each polling booth during the nine-hour voting period.

International and local monitors are deploying more than 25,000 monitors to observe voting on April 2.

The election is seen as a close battle between Kumaratunga's newly formed leftist Freedom Alliance and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's right-wing United National Party.

After a five-week campaign, the rivals have both expressed confidence of mustering the minimum 113 seats to form a Government.

Here are some key statistics:

Population: 19.00 million

Per capita income: 872 dollars

Electorate: 12.89 million

Seats in parliament: 225

Number of candidates: 6,024

Political parties: 24

Independent groups: 192

Polling booths: 10,439

Police: 64,000

Officials: 40,000

Election budget: Over 950 million rupees (9.79 million dollars)