According to first estimates, the brother of ex-president of the country Mahinda Rajapaksa is gaining 48.2% of the vote.
At the same time, the representative of Rajapaksa Keheliya Rambukwell has already announced his victory in the presidential race.
“We got about 53-54% (votes. - RT ),” he said.
His opponent, the candidate from the ruling party, Sajit Premadasa, who previously receives 45.3% of the support of Sri Lankan citizens, admitted defeat and congratulated Rajapaksa on the election victory.
Earlier in the north-west of Sri Lanka, militants opened fire on a column of buses with voters.