Sri Lankans participate in presidential elections

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Sept. 21 (AP): Sri Lankans began voting on Saturday in a presidential election that will determine the course of the country's recovery from its worst economic crisis and the resulting political upheaval. The election, which features 38 candidates, is essentially a three-way contest between incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Marxist-leaning lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.

There are 17 million eligible voters and final results are expected on Sunday. The results will show whether Sri Lankans approve of Wickremesinghe's leadership during the country's fragile recovery, including restructuring its debt under an International Monetary Fund program after it defaults in 2022. The government said on Thursday it had cleared the final hurdle in restructuring the debt by reaching an agreement in principle with private bondholders.

Sri Lanka's domestic and external debt stood at $83 billion at the time of the default, and the government says it has since restructured over $17 billion. Despite a marked improvement in key economic indicators, Sri Lankans are struggling with high taxes and living costs. Both Premadasa and Dissanayake say they would renegotiate the IMF deal to make the austerity more bearable.

Wickremesinghe warned that any change in the fundamentals of the agreement could delay the release of a fourth tranche of nearly $3 billion in aid pledged by the IMF, which is crucial to maintaining stability. Most Sri Lankans think about the economy when voting, hoping that a new government will lead the country fully out of crisis and end the corruption that has long been ingrained in the system.

“I think corruption is one of the main reasons that has brought the country to the current pathetic state. So the next leader should take care of eradicating corruption and start building the country,” said Chandrakumar Suriyaarachchi, a driver who voted in Saturday's election. “Our children deserve a better life.” Political experts say widespread disillusionment with the old political guard – widely blamed for Sri Lanka's economic instability – could result in no single candidate getting 50% of the vote as first-choice votes for the presidential post. In that scenario, the top two candidates will go to a second round of counting, which will also take into account second-choice votes.