Sri Lanka will hold its first presidential election since the country sank into a deep economic crisis two years ago. The vote to be held September 21, will be a referendum on the reforms that have helped stabilize the economy but also led to hardship for millions in the island nation.
After the Election Commission announced the polls on Friday, President Ranil Wickremesinghe filed as an independent candidate. He had taken charge in 2022, after widespread protests forced his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign.
His rise to the top job had disappointed the protesters, analysts say. “This is an election that people are really looking forward to because it will restore a government with the mandate of the people which was lost two years ago following the popular uprising against the government led by Rajapaksa, who was blamed for massive economic mismanagement and corruption,” Jehan Perera, a political analyst in Colombo told VOA.
Wickremesinghe had been elected as president by Parliament, largely with the support of lawmakers from Rajapaksa’s party.
Economic issues will dominate the five-week campaign in a country that was ranked as a middle-income nation before it faced virtual bankruptcy and defaulted on its foreign debt.
Wickremesinghe is credited with putting the economy on the path to recovery with the help of a $2.9 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. The economy is expected to grow 3% this year after shrinking by 7.3% two years ago. The severe shortages of fuel, cooking gas, food and medicines that the country witnessed two years ago have eased and the hourslong daily power cuts have ended.
But austerity measures imposed by his government to rescue the economy have been deeply unpopular. Taxes have been hiked on businesses and professionals and massive subsidies for electricity and other utilities have been slashed.
As a result, millions of ordinary Sri Lankans face plummeting standards of living.
“Prices have risen threefold since 2022, but for a vast majority of people incomes are still the same. While it is true that there are no long lines for food and gas now, that is because people cannot really afford to buy much,” Perara said.
An April World Bank report said that poverty rates have continued to rise in the country, with an estimated 25.9% of Sri Lankans living below the poverty line last year.
Opposition parties have been critical of what they call “hard reforms” imposed on the country.
Wickremesinghe’s main rival is expected to be Sajith Premadasa, who heads the country’s main opposition party. Anura Dissanayake, who leads a leftist party that has gained popularity in the last year, is expected to be another contender for the top job.
“The opposition says it will relieve the austerity measures and will renegotiate part of the IMF program, but it is not yet clear what exactly they are proposing,” Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo told VOA. “Polls conducted over the last month suggest that the public mood is also one of disapproval of the reforms.”
Saravanamuttu also calls the presidential election critical for democracy – it will be the first vote to be held in the country since the economic collapse triggered political turmoil.
Local elections due to be held last year were postponed indefinitely after the government said it had no money to conduct a nationwide vote.
