Sri Lankans go to the polls to elect their president, two years after the country’s bankruptcy

Sri Lankans voted Saturday to elect their president, two years after a catastrophic financial crisis forced the country into a brutal and widely unpopular austerity drive.

The polling stations, which opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT), closed at 4:00 p.m. (10:30 GMT), at the end of a calm vote marked by a good turnout, AFP journalists noted.

Turnout is expected to be around 75 percent of the 17 million registered voters, the electoral commission said, with its chairman RMAL Ratnayake saying the polls were expected to be “the most peaceful” in the country’s history.

The counting must begin quickly, with results expected on Sunday.

At the head of the country since 2022, the outgoing Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking a new mandate with the sole agenda of continuing the forced recovery of the island.

“I have brought this country out of bankruptcy (…) Now I will make Sri Lanka a country with a developed economy, social system and political system,” he promised on Saturday after voting.

Voters wait to cast their ballots in the presidential election on September 21, 2024 in Colombo, Sri Lanka (AFP/Ishara S.KODIKARA)

But the fight promises to be particularly close with his two main opponents, his former centre-right ally Sajith Premadasa, 57, and the leader of the left-wing coalition Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, 55.

“We have never had a three-way battle like this,” political analyst Kusal Perera told AFP. “This is the first presidential election where no one can seriously predict the outcome.”

– “Change” –

If no candidate passes the 50% mark, the electoral commission will have to conduct a new count to identify the second or third preferences of voters and decide between the contenders.

Voters cast their ballots in the presidential election on September 21, 2024 in Colombo, Sri Lanka (AFP/Ishara S. KODIKARA)

On Saturday, many Colombo voters expressed weariness, exhausted by two years of hardship and restrictions.

“We need change in this country,” Mohamed Siraj Razik, 43, told AFP, “the misuse of public funds for the benefit of the political class must stop.”

An old “fox” of local politics – he was prime minister six times – Mr Wickremesinghe came to the presidency in July 2022 after the fall of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, driven from his palace by an angry mob exhausted by inflation and shortages.

He inherited an economy strangled by a debt of 46 billion dollars (42 billion euros), mainly contracted with China, and in the middle of a recession.

Outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe (c) shows his ink-stained finger after casting his vote in the presidential election on September 21, 2020 in Colombo (AFP/-)

After lengthy negotiations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finally released emergency aid of 2.9 billion dollars (2.6 billion euros) in 2023, in exchange for significant tax increases and drastic cuts in public spending.

Order has since been restored on the streets and Sri Lanka’s growth has started to pick up again, although it remains fragile, the IMF warned.

But the country has sunk into poverty, which now affects more than a quarter of its 22 million people, according to the World Bank.

– Renegotiate –

Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, 55, who heads the Marxist-inspired People’s Liberation Front (JVP), has promised to renegotiate the terms of the agreement with the IMF.

Voters queue outside a polling station in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on September 21, 2024 (AFP/Ishara S. KODIKARA)

“Our party needs a new political culture,” he said confidently as he cast his vote on Saturday. “After the victory, I urge everyone to remain calm.”

Having instigated two deadly uprisings in the early 1970s and late 1980s, the JVP renounced armed struggle and largely converted to a market economy.

The number one opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, 57, is also expected to win a significant share of the votes of the discontented.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa (c), a presidential candidate, arrives to vote in Colombo on September 21, 2024 in Sri Lanka (AFP/-)

A former close associate of Ranil Wickremesinghe, he has also pledged to extract concessions from the IMF.

The international institution, however, does not seem willing to soften its demands.

“Progress has been made, but the country is still far from being out of the rut,” warned IMF communications chief Julie Kozack last week.

“We still have many challenges ahead of us,” said one voter, Soundarie David Rodrigo, on Saturday, “so good luck to whoever comes to power.”

© 2024 AFP

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