A total of 8,370 candidates from 690 political parties and independent groups have qualified to contest 196 parliamentary seats at the upcoming General Elections, according to Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake.

This figure represents an increase from the last Parliamentary Election in 2020, where a total of 7,452 candidates participated, including 3,652 from major political parties and 3,800 from independent groups. 

In total, 764 nomination papers were submitted by 35 political parties and independent groups, with 74 papers rejected. 

Notably, all major parties, including the National People’s Power (NPP) and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), had submitted nominations across all 22 districts without any rejections.

The election will see 225 MPs elected to Parliament, with 196 chosen by popular vote, while the remaining 29 will be elected from the National List based on the overall vote share received. 

According to the 2024 voters’ list, 17,140,354 voters are eligible to participate in the General Elections.

In the Badulla District, 19 political parties and six independent groups have submitted nominations, with four parties and one independent group rejected.

In Anuradhapura, 18 political parties and nine independent groups submitted nominations, with the Democratic United National Front’s nomination paper rejected.

The Galle District saw 17 recognised political parties and six independent groups submit papers, with one independent group’s nomination rejected.

In Polonnaruwa, 14 political parties and two independent groups submitted nominations. The district saw the Democratic Left Front’s paper being rejected. 

For Gampaha, 24 political parties and 18 independent groups submitted nominations, with one independent group rejected. 

In Monaragala, 12 political parties and three independent groups are in the running.

In Kegalle, 19 parties submitted nominations, of which five were rejected, including the Democratic Left Front and Our People’s Power Party.

In Batticaloa, 25 parties and 35 independents submitted nominations, with one party being rejected.

All 22 parties and 12 independent groups in Kandy had their nominations accepted, while in Kalutara, 19 parties submitted nominations and four were rejected, including those from the United National Freedom Front and the Arunalu People’s Front. 

Finally, 20 parties and 15 independent groups submitted nominations for Nuwara Eliya, with three parties being rejected.