The government has called for a peaceful election today and said it stands committed to taking whatever steps deemed necessary to ensure the same.

The Presidential Secretariat said in a statement that the government was committed to a free and democratic election in every part of the country.

The full text of the Government statement: "As the campaigning for the Presidential Election, scheduled for tomorrow January 26, 2010, has come to a close, the Government of Sri Lanka is aware of the considerable interest abroad in the first such election in which the entire country can participate freely, since the decisive defeat of terrorism in the country in May last year. 

Having restored peace to the country after 30 years of terrorism, the Government of Sri Lanka is wholly committed to a free and democratic election in every part of the country. 

It was precisely because such elections could not occur in a conflict-ridden situation that the Sri Lanka Government took decisive action last year to end the threat posed by persistent terrorism on the country’s democratic institutions.   

The Sri Lanka Government calls for a peaceful election, and stands committed to taking whatever steps deemed necessary to ensure the same."