Sri Lanka opened its polling stations on Saturday for its first major electoral exercise since the nation’s severe economic crisis in 2022. Over 17 million eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots at more than 13,400 polling locations across the country.
The country has deployed more than 200,000 officials to oversee the election and 63,000 police officers to prevent crisis. Voting commenced at 7 am and is scheduled to go on till 5 pm. Voters can choose from 38 presidential candidates.
The votes will be counted and results will be declared on Sunday.
Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, is running for re-election as an Independent candidate who has campaigned with the claim of successfully helping the country recover from the economic crisis.
Wickremesinghe faces strong competition from Anura Kumara Dissanayake, 56, of the National People's Power (NPP), and Sajith Premadasa, 57, the main Opposition leader from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
As Sri Lanka sank into economic collapse in 2022, a popular uprising led its then-president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to flee the country.
Economy Remains Main Concern Among Candidates This Elections
Though Wickremesinghe's recovery plan tied to rigid reforms linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout was hardly popular, it has helped Sri Lanka recover from successive quarters of negative growth.
Sri Lanka's crisis has proven an opportunity for the 55-year-old Dissanayaka, who has seen a surge of support due to his pledge to change the island's "corrupt" political culture.
This time, 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 IMF programme to give more economic relief to the public.
Sri Lanka's Economic Recovery
Overall, conditions in Sri Lanka have improved after a long dry spell during and after the pandemic.
Tourism economy has flourished, and the Sri Lankan rupee has strengthened.
However, rising prices due to the government's budget cuts are putting pressure on many households.
Sri Lanka's economic crisis started long before the events of 2022. Poor management by successive governments, along with bad policy decisions and the pandemic, worsened the situation.
In 2019, former President Rajapaksa implemented large tax cuts and then banned imports of chemical fertilizer to save foreign reserves, which harmed crop production in a country that relies heavily on agriculture.
With the war in Ukraine, food and fuel prices surged and fuel, cooking gas, medicine and food ran short. Sri Lankans lined up for government rice handouts and charity meals.
Today, inflation has dropped below 5 per cent and there's no need to line up to buy essentials. But key parts of the economy remain in crisis.
Sri Lanka's construction industry has shed about 400,000 jobs in the last four years, according to some estimates. Once a booming industry that contributed nearly 12 per cent to the country's growth figures, its share has dropped to 7 per cent this year.
Many Sri Lankans have sought jobs abroad.
