There are over 14 million voters in Sri Lanka.

The stage is now set for what is expected to be the most closely contested presidential polls in Sri Lanka, with the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and his main challenger Sarath Fonseka are exuding full confidence of emerging victorious.

Hours after the campaigning ended for the crucial January 26 polls in the post-LTTE era, Rajapaksa suffered a defection on Sunday when the matriarch of his coalition and ex-President Chandrika Kumaratunga supported former army chief Gen Fonseka during a meeting at Horagolla, media reports said.

"The prevailing violence and the breakdown in law and order poses a serious challenge to democracy, democratic institutions and values, as well as all the basic freedoms we cherish and have protected with great sacrifice over the centuries," 64-year-old Kumaratunga said in a statement.

"I know of no better system of government than that founded and formed on democracy and freedom," she said.

Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies on Sunday deployed over 68,000 policemen and warned against public gatherings near polling centres.

Under the Presidential Election Act, 1981, any person indulging in rally or meeting would be dealt with immediate affect, senior DIG of the police elections unit Gamini Navaratna said. The police will be supplemented by additional support from member of the armed forces.

There are over 14 million voters in Sri Lanka.