Sri Lanka gears up for crucial presidential polls on Saturday
Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking re-election for a five-year term as an independent candidate, riding on the success of his efforts to pull the country out of the economic crisis
PTI
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Election officials work at a polling material distribution centre ahead of the upcoming presidential election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Friday. PHOTO: AP/PTI
Colombo, 20 Sept
Sri Lanka is gearing up for a
crucial presidential election on Saturday, marking the island nation's first
major poll since its worst economic meltdown in 2022.
Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe,
75, is seeking re-election for a five-year term as an independent candidate,
riding on the success of his efforts to pull the country out of the economic
crisis, which many experts hailed as one of the quickest recoveries in the
world.
Though Wickremesinghe's recovery
plan tied to rigid reforms linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
bail-out was hardly popular, it has helped Sri Lanka recover from successive
quarters of negative growth. “I will make sure that I end the country’s bankruptcy
by going ahead with the reforms we introduced,” Wickremesinghe told an election
rally on Wednesday night.
The three-cornered electoral battle
will see Wickremesinghe facing stiff competition from Anura Kumara Dissanayake,
56, of the National People's Power (NPP), and Sajith Premadasa, 57, of the
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the main Opposition leader.
Analysts opine that the three-way
contest is the first such in the history of Sri Lankan presidential elections
since 1982. "This election is different from all other previous
presidential polls as all the three main contenders had faced setbacks in the
2020 parliamentary election,” analyst Kusal Perera said.
Dissanayake, who is said to be the
front runner according to unofficial opinion polls, polled only three per cent
of the vote in the 2020 parliamentary election, while Wickremesinghe polled
only 2 per cent and Premadasa with the larger chunk of over 25 per cent.
As Sri Lanka sank into economic
collapse in 2022, a popular uprising led its then-president, Gotabaya
Rajapaksa, to flee the country.
In another major departure from
previous presidential polls, the minority Tamil issue is not on the agenda of
any of the three main contenders in this election. Instead, the nation's
battered economy and its recovery have taken centre stage with all three front
runners vowing to stick with the IMF bail-out reforms.
Dissanayake and Premadasa want to
tinker with the programme to give more economic relief to the public.
Addressing a recent public rally,
Dissanayake claimed his victory was certain with unprecedented support coming
from all parts of the island, including the Tamil minority dominated north and
east.
Dissanayake's anti-corruption stand
has struck a chord with voters, mainly youths who crave for a system change in
governance. Premadasa from the centre-right SJB party expressed confidence that
he would win the election with over two million votes.
Approximately 17 million registered
voters are eligible to vote in this election at over 13,400 polling stations
with an expected turnout of 80 per cent. Poll results are due Sunday.
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