Colombo [Sri Lanka], September 20 : Sri Lankans head to the polls this Saturday to choose the country's 10th president, marking the nation's first presidential election since the devastating economic crisis of 2022, Al Jazeera reported.
The crisis, which led to widespread food and fuel shortages, prompted former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country in July 2022.
Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office after Rajapaksa's departure, is now seeking re-election. He faces strong challenges from Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party (JVP) and Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya party (SJB), as per Al Jazeera.
Voting will take place across 13,134 polling stations nationwide, beginning at 7 am local time (01:30 GMT) and closing at 4 pm (10:30 GMT). The voting is expected to start at 9:30 pm (16:00 GMT).
A total of 38 candidates are vying to win the top executive post in the South Asian nation. While the number of candidates was initially 39, one candidate, independent Idroos Mohamed Ilyas, died of a heart attack in August.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister, assumed office as interim president in July 2022 following Rajapaksa's removal. While the 75-year-old has been affiliated with the centre-right United National Party (UNP), he is running for the top job as an independent candidate.
Wickremesinghe is campaigning with his slogan "Puluwan Sri Lanka" or "Sri Lanka Can" and on the message that he pulled the country out of economic duress.
But while several economic indices have improved inflation is down dramatically, and the gross domestic product (GDP) is growing, Wickremesinghe is also criticised by opponents for belonging to the very same political elite that is blamed for the 2022 economic crisis. The incumbent president has governed with the backing of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party of the Rajapaksa family.
According to Al Jazeera, critics also accuse Wickremasinghe whose policies have included cuts in social welfare schemes to balance the country's books of making the weaker sections of Sri Lankan society bear the brunt of the sacrifices needed for the nation's economic recovery.
According to the website Numbers.Ik, which compiles statistics about Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake from the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is leading with 40 percent, followed by Premadasa at 29 percent and Wickremesinghe at 25 percent. This is based on online data collected between September 9 and September 16.
The economy is arguably the biggest issue for Sri Lankans in the election. The country's economy crashed in 2022, with inflation shooting up to 70 percent and the currency depreciated by 45 percent. For months, people formed long queues to fetch fuel, which badly affected daily lives.