Sri Lanka set to vote in presidential election on Saturday, Rani Wickremesinghe seeks re-election: Key points

Sri Lanka is gearing up for its first presidential election since the 2022 economic meltdown, which triggered massive protests and forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country as thousands stormed the Presidential Palace.

Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, is running for re-election as an independent candidate, building on the success of his efforts to steer Sri Lanka out of its economic crisis—a recovery widely praised by experts as one of the fastest globally.

While Wickremesinghe's recovery plan tied to rigid reforms linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bail-out did not gain as much popularity, it helped Sri Lanka recover from successive quarters of negative growth.

Speaking at a re-election rally, Ranil Wickremesinghe said, “I will make sure that I end the country’s bankruptcy by going ahead with the reforms we introduced.”

Who against Ranil Wickremesinghe?

The Sri Lankan Presidential elections 2024 is a three-cornered battle, first in the history of presidential polls in the country. Ranil Wickremesinghe is up against National People's Power (NPP) candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) candidate Sajith Premadasa.

"This election is different from all other previous presidential polls as all the three main contenders had faced setbacks in the 2020 parliamentary election,” PTI quoted analyst Kusal Perera as saying.

Some opinion polls predict that NPP's Anura Kumara Dissanayake is front-runner in the presidential polls.

When is Sri Lanka presidential election voting?

The voting in Sri Lanka presidential elections 2024 will take place between 7 am to 5 pm on Saturday, September 21, at over 13,400 polling stations. The Sri Lanka presidential election results will be declared on Sunday, September 22.

How many voters are eligible to vote in presidential polls?

Approximately 17 million, out of island nation's 21 million, registered voters are eligible to vote in this election with an expected turnout of 80 per cent.

Meanwhile, a total of 116 representatives from various international election observation organisations have arrived in Sri Lanka to monitor the upcoming presidential election.

(With agency inputs)