Wickremensignhe’s main challengers — opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and parliamentarian Anura Dissanayake, a surprise top contender who heads a new leftist coalition — have promised major political changes, including renegotiating a deal with the International Monetary Fund to win more favorable terms.

Economic crisis and the IMF austerity program are the major issues while terrorism and polarisation have taken a back seat

Sri Lanka’s upcoming presidential election has become a referendum on a $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan program that has helped to pull the island nation out of its worst economic crisis since independence.

Sri Lanka is preparing for its first national election since the financial default of 2022. Scheduled for September 21, 2024, this pivotal election features over 30 candidates, including President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.

Sajith Premadasa, leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya party, addresses his supporters at an election campaign rally for the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for September 21, in Colombo, Sri Lanka August 22,

Sri Lankans who usually vote along religious and ethnic lines will be keeping another factor in mind when they vote Saturday on a new president

President Ranil Wickremesinghe charted a path for Sri Lanka out of its worst financial crisis in decades, but the austerity measures that were key to this recovery may hinder his bid to return to his job in Saturday's presidential election.

Sri Lankans will vote on Saturday for their next president, who will be key to deciding the future of reforms in a nation slowly emerging from worst financial crisis in decades. A critical shortfall in foreign exchange in 2022 pushed Sri Lanka's economy into the worst financial freefall in decades.

Sri Lankans go to the polls this weekend for the country’s first election since defaulting on piles of sovereign debt in 2022, when the nation plunged into its worst economic crisis across 70 years of independence.

Scarred by a decades-long civil war and struggling to survive in Sri Lanka's crippled economy, ethnic minority Tamils in the island nation say they have little hope that Saturday's presidential election will improve their lot by much.