Sri Lanka to hold presidential election on Nov 16

Acceptance of nominations will be on October 7. According to the Election Commission statement, there could be a record of 18 candidates in this year's presidential election.

Colombo:Presidential elections in Sri Lanka will be held on November 16 and the acceptance of the nominations will be on October 7, Election Commission announced on Wednesday.

Reportedly, Sri Lanka's main opposition party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, has named former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's younger brother and former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as its presidential candidate whereas Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's ruling United National Party (UNP) will name its candidate next week.

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has named Anura Kumara Dissanayake as its presidential candidate.

According to the EC statement, there could be a record of 18 candidates in this year's presidential election.