Cash-strapped Sri Lanka will vote for its next president tomorrow in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation’s unprecedented financial crisis.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking a fresh mandate after claiming credit for stabilising the economy and bringing an end to months of food, fuel and medicine shortages.
He has also restored calm to the streets after civil unrest spurred by the downturn in 2022 saw thousands storm the compound of his predecessor, who promptly fled the country.
“Think of the time when all hope was lost... we didn’t have food, gas, medicine, or any hopes,” Wickremesinghe said in the closing days of the campaign.
“Now you have a choice. Decide if you want to go back to the period of terror, or progress.”
But Wickremesinghe’s tax hikes and other belt-tightening measures, imposed per the terms of a US$2.9bil (RM12.3bil) IMF bailout, have left millions struggling to make ends meet.
Experts warn that Sri Lanka’s economy is still vulnerable, with payments on the island’s US$46bil (RM195.23bil) foreign debt yet to resume since a 2022 government default.
Wickremesinghe says he will press ahead with his austerity programme if elected and warned that any deviation from the IMF’s prescription will lead to more trouble.
“The election will largely be a referendum on how Wickremesinghe’s government has handled the economic crisis and the ensuing modest recovery,” the International Crisis Group said in a report.
It added that many citizens were suffering “enormous hardship at the same time as Colombo cuts costs and takes other austerity measures perceived by the public as unfair”.
Wickremesinghe faces two formidable challengers including Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, the leader of a once-marginal Marxist party tarnished by its violent past.
Fellow opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, 57, is also favoured to make a strong showing. — AFP
