Sri Lanka Fixes Sept 21 For Presidential Election Amid Economic Crisis

Sri Lanka, South Asia, has on Friday announced that its presidential elections will take place on September 21.

This was contained in a government notice released on Friday.
The election would mark a pivotal voting time that could shape the future of reforms as the country grapples with its most severe financial crisis in decades.

Candidates must submit their nominations by August 15, with current President Ranil Wickremesinghe being the first to do so by paying a non-refundable fee to the election commission, as stated by his office.

Wickremesinghe, aged 75, assumed the presidency in July 2022 following mass protests over the financial crisis, which led to his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing the country and subsequently resigning. 

The parliament then elected Wickremesinghe to complete Rajapaksa’s remaining term, originally set to end in November 2024.
Bhavani Fonseka, a senior researcher at the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the election commission must be allowed to conduct the vote freely and fairly.
Nearly 17 million of Sri Lanka’s 22 million residents are eligible to participate in the election. 
Wickremesinghe, aided by a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has managed to stabilise the economy, reducing inflation from 70% in September 2022 to 1.7% in June, strengthening the rupee, and rebuilding foreign exchange reserves.
The economy is projected to grow by 3% in 2024 after contracting by 2.3% last year and 7.3% during the peak of the crisis.
Bilateral creditors, including Japan, China, and India, agreed last month to restructure $10 billion in debt, allowing Sri Lanka to defer repayments for four years and save $5 billion. 
However, the country still needs to finalise an agreement with bondholders to restructure $12.5 billion in debt before a third IMF review later this year.
High taxes imposed under the IMF programme, persistent inflation, and a stagnant job market have pushed a quarter of the population into poverty and led thousands to emigrate.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) might capitalise on this during campaigns.