The Sri Lankan presidential elections will be held on January 8, according to the country’s election commission.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa will contest the poll for an unprecedented third term, against the common opposition candidate announced earlier today, his former health minister Maithripala Sirisena.
The poll will take place five days before the visit by Pope Francis.
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
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