Sri Lanka to hold prez election from Sept 17 to Oct 16

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will hold presidential election between Sept 17 and Oct 16, the election commission said Thursday.
Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose term ends in Nov, is likely to seek a mandate for the economic reforms he is carrying out in exchange for a $3 billion IMF bailout loan. He was elected by lawmakers in 2022 after Gotabaya Rajapaksa quit following weeks of protests.Wickremesinghe, 75, will represent several parties as a national candidate under a new symbol, his aide said last month. He has led UNP since 1994. He has served as PM on five occasions.
Wickremesinghe may face challenge from his justice minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. Former prez Maithripala Sirisena, the chairman of Sri Lanka Freedom Party, has said that Rajapakshe, 65, would be his party's candidate.