Who are the five key candidates in Sri Lanka's presidential election?
COLOMBO, Sept 19 (Reuters) -President Ranil Wickremesinghe is among the 38 candidates contesting Sri Lanka's presidential election on Saturday, a poll that is key to deciding the future of reforms in a nation battling its worst financial crisis in decades.
Below are short profiles of the five key candidates:
RANIL WICKREMESINGHE, 75
A lawyer who has served as prime minister a record six times, Wickremesinghe's party holds only one seat in parliament and will need to drum up support from key parties to bolster his chances.
As the leader of the United National Party (UNP), he took office in July 2022 after widespread protests unleashed by the debilitating financial crisis forced his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee Sri Lanka and later resign.
Parliament elected Wickremesinghe to serve out the rest of the five-year term of Rajapaksa, who took office in 2019.
Wickremesinghe's re-election bid failed to get formal backing from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the party with the most seats in the 225-member parliament, but the support of more than 90 lawmakers puts him in strong position. He is contesting as an independent candidate.
SAJITH PREMADASA, 57
Opposition leader and son of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, he leads the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) that broke with Wickremesinghe's UNP in 2020.
His centrist, more left-leaning party has called for changes to the $2.9 billion bailout programme with the International Monetary Fund and outlined plans to adjust some targets, such as changing taxes to reduce the cost of living.
Premadasa favours a mix of interventionist and free-market economic policies.
ANURA KUMARA DISSANAYAKE, 55
Despite holding just three seats in parliament, Dissanayake's promise of tough anti-corruption measures and pro-poor policies have given a popular boost to his candidacy.
He will contest under the National People's Power (NPP) coalition, which includes his Marxist-leaning party People's Liberation Front. His party has traditionally backed stronger state intervention and more closed market economic policies.
A pre-election opinion survey showed Dissanayake was leading in voting preferences at 36%, followed by Premadasa and Wickremesinghe at third.
NAMAL RAJAPAKSA, 38
Scion of the powerful Rajapaksa family that produced two presidents - his father Mahinda and uncle Gotabaya - Namal is a surprise entrant, as the candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), founded by another uncle, Basil.
He faces the daunting task of keeping the party unified to counter Wickremesinghe's chances of winning.
NUWAN BOPAGE, 40
The candidate of the Peoples' Struggle Alliance, Bopage hopes to tap into the remnants of the massive people's uprising that deposed Gotabaya Rajapaksa two years back.
He has taken a strong anti-corruption stance, backs more pro-poor policies and opposes Sri Lanka's alignment with the IMF programme.
Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Miral Fahmy
Berita Terkini
Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
