Two Presidential aspirants who made cash deposits last week - namely Chamal Rajapaksa and Kumara Welgama - backed out of the Presidential race at the last moment.

Welgama and Rajapaksa obtained letters from the Secretary General of Parliament to run for the presidency.

Rajapaksa, a brother of SLPP candidate Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, made a cash deposit only hours before the ruling on the case challenging the validity of the SLPP candidate's Sri Lankan citizenship.

However, Chamal Rajapaksa accompanied his brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to the Elections Secretariat to hand over nomination papers this morning.