Campaign posters were largely absent in the lead up to this week’s Sri Lankan election, with posters banned because they had been previously responsible for inciting election violence.

Despite the ban, some parties still continued to print and paste posters up on walls, only to see them torn down within hours by police and civic clean up teams.

The poster ban may have been good for other media however, with some radio and tv stations reporting they received more election advertising this time around.

Smaller parties have claimed that they do not have enough money to afford electronic media advertising, and have criticised the poster ban.

Voting in the presidential election has now closed, with election monitors saying turnout was high, despite some reports of intimidation. Election officials estimate that participation reached more than 70%. The polling process is reported to have been largely peaceful, in contrast to previous violent elections.