Sri lankans were going to the polls as The Economist went to press at the end of a hotly contested presidential race, marred in its final days by violence and intimidation. The elections commissioner saw fit to take tough new measures to prevent rigging: for the first time, results will be released directly, not via the information department of the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The commissioner is also allowing independent observers to go into the counting centres, and he gave warning that he would order a revote in areas with egregious irregularities.
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