Sri Lanka at a Crossroads: Presidential Election Pivots on Economic Revival
2024/9/21 13:36
(Updated 9/21 14:00)
Sri Lanka Elects New President Amid Economic Crisis
Millions of Sri Lankans voted on September 21 to elect a new president, marking the country’s first election since 2022.
With a population of approximately 22 million, over 17 million Sri Lankans are eligible to vote. The candidates include incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who recently led in a poll.
Voting began at 7:00 a.m. local time, with polling set to end at 4 pm. The selection committee is expected to announce the winner on September 22.
This election comes after Sri Lanka’s economy plunged into a deep recession in 2022 due to a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves. The country struggled to afford imported necessities such as cooking fuel, medicine, and natural gas.
In 2022, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Colombo, occupying the presidential office and government residence, forcing then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and resign.
With the aid of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $2.9 billion bailout plan, Sri Lanka’s economy has shown improvement. However, the high cost of living remains a pressing concern for many voters.
Although inflation has decreased to 0.5% from a high of 70% last month, and the economy is expected to grow for the first time in three years in 2024, millions of people remain trapped in poverty and debt.
The winner of the election must ensure that Sri Lanka continues to receive support from the IMF program until 2027, enabling the economy to move towards sustainable growth, calm markets, attract investors, and help lift a quarter of the population out of poverty.
Sri Lanka’s ranked voting system allows voters to cast three priority votes. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote in the first round, the top two vote leaders will advance to the second round. Analysts believe that a second round of voting may be necessary due to the fierce competition in this election.