AKD wins 15 out 22 districts; receives 5.6 million votes in first round

Colombo, September 22 (Daily Mirror) Anura Kumara Dissanayake swept the 15 of the 22 districts at the end of the first round of counting at the Presidential Elections 2024. 

Dissanayake topped the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Gampaha, Kegalle, Kandy, Matale, Colombo, Ratnapura, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambatota and Moneragala districts.  

Sajith Premadasa meanwhile claimed the Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Digamadulla, Batiicaloa, Trincolmalee, Vanni and Jaffna districts. 

Premadasa held onto the districts he won at the 2019 elections, while adding the Badulla district. 

Dissanayake meanwhile won all but one of the 16 districts that Gotabaya Rajapaksa claimed on the way to becoming President in 2019.

Earlier the Election Commission Chairman Saman Sri Ratnayake confirmed that Dissanayake polled the most votes with 5,634,915 votes (42.31%). 

Ahead of the counting of second and third preferential votes, Sajith Premadasa secured 4,363,035 votes (32.76%) and Ranil Wickremesinghe polled third with 2,299,767 votes (17.27%).