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Sri Lanka holds presidential election following economic collapse and IMF loan negotiations

Sri Lanka holds presidential election following economic collapse and IMF loan negotiations

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Sri Lanka is holding its presidential election on September 21, with nearly 17 million out of its 22 million population eligible to vote. The election is seen as a referendum on the country's economic crisis, which was triggered by a debt default in 2022 and led to shortages of fuel, medicine, and food. The interim government has introduced austerity measures, including tax hikes, to stabilize the economy, but these measures have been unpopular with many voters. Three main candidates are contesting the election: current President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. The election is expected to be a close race, with economic concerns being a major issue for voters. Some analysts predict that President Wickremesinghe will face an uphill battle to win a fresh mandate to continue his austerity measures, while others suggest that a change in leadership may be necessary to address the country's economic woes.

Nihal Talduwa
1. In some areas, we have had to deploy police to ensure polling booths are safe from wild animals, especially wild elephants.
2. We also have anti-riot squads on standby in case of any trouble, but so far everything is peaceful.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
1. It didn't provide enough debt relief, and it requires debt to be paid down through high budget surpluses, meaning less spending on public services.
Harini Amarasuriya
National People's Power
1. We want to ensure that there are more social protection measures for the poorer.
2. We recognize that India and China have global ambitions.
3. We aren't averse to investment at all. We just want it done the proper way. We don't want any corruption.
Ali Sabry
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
1. Many parties have promised renegotiation of the agreement with the IMF, but I don't think that is a realistic goal or possibility.
Ranil Wickremesinghe
United National Party
1. We must continue with reforms to end bankruptcy.
2. I will now deliver Sri Lanka a developed economy, developed social system and developed political system.
3. Decide if you want to go back to the period of terror, or progress.
Katrina Ell
1. Wide-ranging austerity also included a sovereign debt restructuring.
2. All these measures do not offer a quick fix.
Jayati Ghosh
University of Massachusetts Amherst
1. And though he's inched towards the centre, he's still the progressive in the race.
2. On top of regressive VAT increases, public pension funds bore a big brunt of the restructuring. Teachers and nurses had their pensions slashed. It's criminal.
3. Anura wants to change the Fund's insistence on treating external and domestic debt equally.
4. Dissanayake would try and push the IMF to shift the burden away from ordinary Sri Lankans onto external creditors. Poor people's livelihoods have already been badly hit. He has been far more critical on the debt issue than Premadasa.
5. Dissanayake has distanced himself from his party's past and his old Marxist leanings.
DBS Jeyaraj
1. The cake will be baked by Sinhala votes, but the icing will be the minority votes.
2. By cooperating fully with the IMF, the Wickremesinghe government ushered in much needed economic relief. The rupee has been strengthened. Inflation reduced. The tax base has expanded. The debt re-structuring program has been implemented.
3. Economically, the country is not out of the woods yet.
4. The minority votes assume greater significance because the Sinhala vote may be split almost equally among three main candidates.

Sri Lanka holds presidential election following economic collapse and IMF loan negotiations

2024 Sri Lanka Presidential Election

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