国际英语新闻:Sri Lanka's elections chief says presidential polls ends peacefully

COLOMBO, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said on Saturday that the country's presidential polls had concluded peacefully without any major injuries or violence reported and with a voter turnout of over 80 percent.

Deshapriya told journalists in the capital after the voting that in total seven violent incidents had been reported from across the country which included shooting and stabbing while 248 minor violations such as threats and intimidation had been reported.

However, Deshapriya said that these numbers were far less than the previous elections.

"I think this is the first presidential election which concluded so successfully. I am very happy. I am satisfied with the overall voter turnout as well," Deshapriya said.

The highest voter turnout was reported from Hambantota in the south while the lowest turnout was reported from Mannar in the north.

Deshapriya said that the winner was likely to be announced by Sunday evening and the new president is likely to be sworn in by early next week.

A total of 35 candidates contested the presidential polls on Saturday.

An estimated 16 million people out of the 22 million people were eligible to vote.