Sri Lanka's first presidential vote since its economic meltdown

September 21, 2024 - Two years after an economic meltdown, Sri Lanka holds an election seen as a referendum on painful austerity measures that were imposed under a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

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Helped by a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme, Wickremesinghe has stitched back the shattered economy, bringing down inflation from a steep 70% in September 2022 to 1.7% in June, strengthening the rupee and rebuilding previously decimated foreign exchange reserves.

However, victory for him is far from assured as the austerity measures have been deeply unpopular.

The race could be tight, with incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe facing off against two rivals who want to open fresh talks with the IMF, main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the only major candidate who doesn’t belong to an established party.

Also in the race is Namal Rajapaksa, who is running as the scion of Sri Lanka’s most powerful political family.

Some 17 million eligible voters will rank candidates by order of preference. If none secures 50% of first-place votes, the election goes to a run-off in which voters’ second and third preferences are counted.