Sri Lanka votes to choose new president as economic problems persist

Millions of Sri Lankans have cast their votes to select a new president who will face the task of cementing the South Asian country's fragile economic recovery following its worst financial crisis in decades.

Voting began on Saturday at 7 am (0130 GMT) and ended at 4 pm (1030 GMT), with counting underway.

There are 17 million eligible voters, and final results are expected Sunday.

The election has shaped up to be a close contest between incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Marxist-leaning challenger Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The results will show whether Sri Lankans approve of Wickremesinghe's leadership of a fragile recovery, including restructuring Sri Lanka's debt under an International Monetary Fund program after it defaulted in 2022.

The government announced Thursday that it passed the final hurdle in debt restructuring by reaching an agreement in principle with private bond holders.

At the time of its default, Sri Lanka’s local and foreign debt totaled $83 billion. The government says it has now restructured more than $17 billion.

However, despite a significant improvement in key economic figures, Sri Lankans are struggling with high taxes and living costs.

High cost of living

This is the first election since Sri Lanka's economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage leaving the Indian Ocean island nation unable to pay for imports of essentials including fuel, medicine and cooking gas.

Thousands of protesters marched in Colombo in 2022 and occupied the president's office and residence, forcing former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign.

Buttressed by a $2.9 billion bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sri Lanka's economy has posted a tentative recovery but high cost of living remains a core issue for many voters.

Sri Lanka's ranked voting system allows voters to cast three preferential votes for their chosen candidates, with any candidate securing 50 percent of the votes or more declared winner.

If no candidate wins 50 percent in the first round there is a second round of counting between the two frontrunners, with the preferential votes of other candidates redistributed, an outcome analysts say is likely given the close nature of the election.

The Election Commission will formally announce the winner, most likely on Sunday.

Whoever wins the election will have to ensure Sri Lanka sticks with the IMF programme till 2027 to get its economy on a stable growth path, reassure markets, attract investors and help a quarter of its 22 million population climb out of crisis-caused poverty.