COLOMBO, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of the Election Commission R.M.A.L. Ratnayake said on Sunday that Sri Lanka's presidential election entered the second round of counting.
He said that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People's Power (NPP) and Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawega (SJB) will be qualified in the race.
Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe failed in the first round.
Ratnayake said none of the candidates had obtained over 50 percent of votes in the election, and a second count was necessary as per the Elections Act of 1981.
All counting centers have been asked to go for the second and third preference count and send in the result to the commission, he added.
This was the first presidential run-off in Sri Lanka's election history, local media said. ■