Colombo: As Sri Lanka continues its recovery from the devastating 2022 economic crisis, the people of the island nation, who have endured the impact of strict austerity measures, are set to vote in the first elections since the crisis. Significantly, economic concerns are expected to dominate the agenda. The crisis, which resulted in severe shortages of food and fuel, compelled Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country in 2022. Rajapaksa’s economic strategies, compounded by the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, are believed to have triggered the island nation’s most severe economic collapse.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has served as prime minister six times, stepped in as interim president in July 2022 after Rajapaksa was ousted. He is now aiming to secure another term in office. He faces challenges from Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party (JVP) and Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya party (SJB).
Sri Lankans are set to cast their votes on Saturday to elect the 10th president of the South Asian nation, marking the first election since the economic crisis. According to the report in Al Jazeera, voting will take place at 13,134 polling stations in Sri Lanka, beginning at 7 am (local time) and closing at 4 pm (local time). Counting votes is expected to begin at 9:30 pm (local time).
A total of 38 candidates are competing for the top executive office in Sri Lanka. Initially, 39 candidates were in the race, but independent candidate Idroos Mohamed Ilyas passed away from a heart attack in August. Interestingly, although Ranil Wickremesinghe has long been associated with the centre-right United National Party (UNP), he is contesting for the presidency as an independent candidate after the party nominated a different contender for the position.
Wickremesinghe has been campaigning with his slogan “Puluwan Sri Lanka” or “Sri Lanka Can”, while weighing on the plank that he pulled the country out of an economic crisis. According to Al Jazeera report, several economic indices of the Sri Lankan economy have improved, with inflation reducing dramatically, and the gross domestic product (GDP) showing healthy growth, Wickremesinghe, however, has been facing criticisms by opponents for belonging to the very same political elite that is blamed for the 2022 economic crisis,
Other than the incumbent president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake from the Marxist party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), has soared in popularity after the 2022 crisis. The 55-year-old played an active role in the protest movement and has been critical of a USD 2.9 billion bailout deal Sri Lanka struck with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), claiming that it has increased the cost of living for Sri Lankans, news agency ANI reported.
Sajith Premadasa is another prominent contender in the race. He established the populist Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) after parting ways with Wickremesinghe’s UNP. The son of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, he currently serves as the leader of the opposition in Sri Lanka’s parliament.
(With ANI Inputs)
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