The counting of ballot papers for the 2020 general election will commence at 8 a.m. on 6 August, following the polling date, the Election Commission (EC) said. EC Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya has said the first result of the election will be released at around 4 p.m. the same day (6). Meanwhile, the submission of postal ballot papers to the Postal Department was to commence yesterday (30 June). It is learnt that while 753,037 public servants have applied for postal voting for the forthcoming general election, 47,952 of the applications have been rejected due to flaws in filling out the forms. Postal voting for the 2020 general election is scheduled to be held on 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, and 21 July.