Voters in Sri Lanka began casting their ballots today to choose a new president for the next five years.

More than 17 million of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people are eligible to vote in a hotly contested election between incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and main opposition leaders Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Voting began this morning at more than 13,000 polling stations across the country.

Polling is expected to close at 4pm on the same day, with the result to be announced on Sunday.

To win the election, a candidate must win more than 50 per cent of the vote, and if no candidate wins that majority, there could be a second round of counting.