Sri Lanka, Oct. 22 -- The estimated cost of print and electronic media advertising of NDF Candidate Sajith Premadasa and SLPP Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa collectively over the past two weeks alone has exceeded Rs 169 million, the elections watchdog Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) has disclosed.

The first report on monitoring election campaign finances of the 35 candidates contesting Presidential Election 2019 will be released tomorrow (23), the CMEV's National Coordinator Manjula Gajanayake announced on Sunday. Speaking at a workshop for journalists on election reporting organized by Internews on Sunday, Gajanayake said the CMEV would thereafter update the report weekly.

The CMEV has initiated a process to track the elec...