Millions of Sri Lankans cast their votes on Saturday 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.

Millions of Sri Lankans voted to select a new president who will face the challenge of stabilizing the country's fragile economic recovery. The election is a close contest between incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe,

Economic issues top the agenda as the island country of 22 million goes to the polls to elect its 10th president.

The upcoming Sri Lankan presidential elections feature many old and popular names. However, one among them stands out — Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party.

Sri Lankans vote this weekend to elect the country's 10th president, the first since the 2022 economic crisis. Current President Ranil Wickremesinghe faces stiff competition from Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Sajith Premadasa.

His party, the JVP, twice fought violent battles to overthrow the very Sri Lankan state that he now wants to run.

Sri Lankans who usually vote along religious and ethnic lines will be keeping another factor in mind when they vote Saturday on a new president

Two of the leading presidential contenders, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Marxist-leaning parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake, have expressed interest in reworking Sri Lanka's $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund bailout.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe charted a path for Sri Lanka out of its worst financial crisis in decades, but the austerity measures that were key to this recovery may hinder his bid to return to his job in Saturday's presidential election.

As Sri Lanka sank into economic collapse in 2022, people from various walks of life rallied to change a long-entrenched government they saw as responsible. The unprecedented island-wide public uprising they led was a moment of hope for the country long been fatigued by war and economic instability.

Sri Lanka’s upcoming presidential election has become a referendum on a $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan program that has helped to pull the island nation out of its worst economic crisis since independence.