Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said that voters will however be required to remove the mask and verify their identity at the polling booth.
He said that hand sanitisers will be used and social distancing maintained at the polling booths. The chairman said voters have already been informed that they will be allowed to use their own pens to mark their preferences.
Around 1.6 crore voters will be eligible to exercise their franchise to elect a 225-member parliament. Sri Lanka follows a preferential system of voting for parliament elections and an electoral district elects several representatives for the parliament. This is the first major election in the region after COVID outbreak and polling was postponed twice due to the pandemic.
The ruling Sri Lanka People’s party (SLPP) is aiming to get two-thirds majority at the election in a bid to change 19th amendment to the constitution which has curtailed President’s powers and set up independent commissions.
The party led by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has been highlighting the failures during the previous government including Easter Sunday attacks and bond scam.
Opposition parties are talking of post-COVID recovery and overcoming economic challenges before the country.