ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka closed polling for the presidential election at 1600 hours on Saturday (21) amid a tight race among the top three candidates: President Ranil Wickremesinghe, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and Marxists party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka.

Mr. Wickremesinghe, 75, a six-time former prime minister, is a political survivor. His elevation to the presidency in 2022, after the overthrow of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, plucked him out of irrelevance and demonstrated his formidable bargaining powers.

Sri Lankans will step out to vote today (September 21, 2024) to elect their next President in a crucial election, the first to be held after the island nation’s economy crashed in 2022. As citizens’ economic concerns take centre stage in this election,