Sri Lanka Votes Today To Pick President After Economic Crisis Wickremesinghe Faces Tough Challenge In Election Triangle

9/21/2024 12:00:13 AM

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Cash-strapped Sri Lanka began voting for its next president on Saturday, effectively turning the election into a referendum on the International Monetary Fund's unpopular austerity plan implemented following the country's severe financial crisis.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe faces a challenging fight for a new mandate to maintain the belt-tightening measures that have stabilized the Economy and alleviated months of shortages in food, fuel, and medicine.

“We must continue with reforms to end bankruptcy,” Wickremesinghe, 75, said at his final rally in Colombo this week, adding,“Decide if you want to go back to the period of terror or progress,” AFP reported.

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Sri Lanka's crisis has proven an opportunity for the 55-year-old Dissanayaka, who has seen a surge of support based on his pledge to change the island's“corrupt” political culture.

Wickremesinghe's tax increases and other measures, part of a $2.9 billion IMF bailout, have left millions struggling to make ends meet.

More than 17 million people are eligible to vote in the election, with more than 63,000 police deployed to protect polling booths and counting centres.

Economic issues dominated the eight-week campaign, fueled by widespread public frustration over the hardships faced since the crisis peaked two years ago. Official data indicated that Sri Lanka's poverty rate doubled to 25 per cent between 2021 and 2022, adding over 2.5 million people to those living on less than $3.65 a day.

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Although a record 38 candidates are on the ballot, the election has been a tight race between three leading candidates: incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a leftist politician backed by protesters who led the political uprisings in 2022.

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