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Sri Lanka presidential election 2024: Key candidates, why today's vote matters for India
Sri Lanka election 2024: This is Sri Lanka's first election after its economy collapsed in 2022 and holds importance for India amid growing influence of China.
The island nation of Sri Lanka will vote for a new President on Saturday, September 21, in it's first election after the economic collapse in 2022, with 38 candidates vying for the presidential seat.
Sri Lanka will start voting at 7am (local time) and end at 4pm, after which counting will begin. Results are expected on Sunday, reported news agency the Associate Press.
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Around 17 out of 22 million people are eligible to vote in for the country's 10th president as economic issues such as inflation, social welfare schemes, food and fuel shortages, take precedence.
Key candidates
At the forefront of the race is sitting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, fighting for re-election. However, he faces competition from two other political heavyweights.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe
The 75-year-old Wickremesinghe succeeded former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled in 2022 as the country's economy hit rock-bottom and Sri-Lankans launched massive protests against the government.
President Wickremesinghe has garnered the people's goodwill earlier as a six-time prime minister and for his role in negotiating an IMF bailout for the struggling country.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake
Key competitor for the country's top position, Dissanayake is leading opinion polls ahead of the election, reported Reuters.
His party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has led Marxist uprisings against the government twice and were key contributors to the 2022 protests that erupted across the nation.
An Aljazeera report claimed that Dissanayake however, has opposed investigation into war crimes against the Tamil minority, which may alienate them from his mandate.
Sajith Premadasa
The son of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, the 57-year-old leader is the head of Sri Lanka’s main opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
In the 2019 elections, he lost the race to Gotabaya Rajapaksa by a small margin and has appealed to voters this time with a promise to tax the rich to alleviate poverty in the country.
Key issues
The economic crisis of 2022 left the country dealing with widespread poverty and outrage from citizens towards the government. While progress has been made on some of these issues such as improvements in GDP and inflation, the people's issues remain largely centred around the failure of the economy.
Official data obtained by news aency AFP showed that Sri Lanka's poverty rate doubled to 25 percent between 2021 and 2022. The natin also has 46 billion dollars of foreign debt which is yet to be paid off.
Inflation, taxation and depreciation of currency has been one of the main issues. While President Wickremesinghe has improved the economy on many fronts, he has faced criticism for higher tax rates.
Availability of food, fuel, medicines also play a huge role especially after the roll back of several social welfare schemes under President Wickremesinghe.
What's at stake for India?
The Sri Lankan elections carry influence beyond their borders, with it's neighbouring nation India having vested interests for more than one reason.
The minority Tamil community in Sri Lanka holds strong bonds with the Indian state of Tamil Nadu across the ocean. With Sinhalese candidates leading the charge, it is a matter of concern for the Tamilian minority and its supporters. News agency Reuters reported that the Sri Lankan Tamil population feels “no hope” in the outcome of the presidential election.
However, India's main concern lies with the growing influence of China over the Sri Lankan state. The two countries have been competing for a foothold in Sri Lanka due to the country's strategic location for trade and military operations.
The Indian Adani Group has taken on a multi-billion dollar project for the expansion of the Colombo West International Terminal, reported Bloomberg.
Sri Lanka has also handed over control of Hambantota, a major shipping hub to China for 99 years due to financial losses. The country's dependence on China has grown over the years as between 2006-2022, Sri Lanka has received 11.2 billion dollars from China in the form of grants, bailouts and loans, according to Bloomberg.
Out of all the candidates, Sajith Premadasa and his party have been the most vocal in criticising Chinese involvement in Sri Lanka.
