On Saturday, Sri Lankans stepped out to vote to elect their next President in a significant election, the first to be held after the country’s economy crashed in 2022. Notably, in this election, a total of 38 candidates are in fray which features a three-cornered race between Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa, and prominent opposition legislator Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The three main candidates have promised economic recovery and relief from hardships. They have promised to take forward the ongoing International Monetary Fund programme that is shaping the bankrupt country’s policies to restructure its foreign debt with a diverse group of external creditors.
Notably, women make up more than half of the voters in Sri Lanka, but not a single one will be on the ballot in Saturday’s presidential election. The country has a population of more than 22 million people and is voting for a president to take its economy forward after it went through an unprecedented financial crisis two years ago. The election will allow more than 17 million eligible voters to choose from a record 38 candidates. But women who account for over 9 million voters will have no gender representation.
More than 17 million of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people are eligible to vote in an election that has shaped up to be a close contest between President Ranil Wickremesinghe, main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Marxist-leaning challenger Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who led in one recent opinion poll. Namal Rajapaksa, the presidential candidate and son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, cast his vote in the 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election.
He also encouraged citizens to vast votes emphasising that every vote counts for the future of Sri Lanka. Namal Rajapaksa, representing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party, is one of the prominent candidates, alongside incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa.
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