President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who is seeking a second term in office, and Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the opposition United National Party (UNP), are the two main contenders.

From the rest, the candidatures of Vasudeva Nanayakkara, an independent Left candidate, and Nandana Goonatilleke of the Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP), could have a significant impact on voting behaviour.

``I will bring peace to the country and continue the work we have been doing and make Sri Lanka a prosperous nation in the 21st century. I ask all other political parties to cooperate with me to conduct a peaceful election,'' said Kumaratunga as she emerged from the election secretariat after handing in her nomination to the Election Commissioner.

Kumaratunga, who now sports an Indira Gandhi-like white streak in her hair, was wearing a sari in brightblue, her party's official colour.

Her main challenger said: ``After December 21, I will lead Sri Lanka into the 21st century. We make a special request to all the people to use their vote peacefully.'' Both seemed equally confident of their prospects and could be seen chatting quite amiably with each other inside the Election Commissioner's office. Tea and cakes were served to all candidates as they awaited the scrutiny of their nominations by the officials, and everything was remarkably civilised.

But outside the atmosphere was more election-like. Massed supporters of candidates were asked to keep their distance and the rule was enforced by a strong posse of police.

But it was a carnival nevertheless. The arrival and departure of candidates was heralded by noisy cheers, drums and trumpets. The police stood by, water cannons on the ready, just in case the party got too boisterous.

Roads were closed, traffic diverted and security forces placed on high alert as the nomination process got underway inthe morning. The event was shown live on the main state-run national television channel.

Though Kumaratunga and Wickremesinghe have already begun their respective campaigns for the December 21 election, canvassing is expected to go into top gear from Wednesday.

Apprehensions of violence in the run-up to the election increased after the incident on Sunday in which two people were killed in a grenade attack on a UNP meeting in central Sri Lanka.

Wickremsinghe had left the meeting minutes before the explosion. Though there is a fear that the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will try to disrupt the election, UNP party officials blamed the Government for engineering the blast and demanded more security for their candidate.

Wickremesinghe's predecessor Gamini Dissanayake was assassinated days before the 1994 presidential election which Kumaratunga went on to win. The LTTE were held responsible for the killing.