This is Sri Lanka’s first election since the Indian Ocean nation’s economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage, leaving it unable to pay for imports of essentials including fuel, medicine and cooking gas. Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake leaves a polling station after casting his vote in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo on Saturday. Grinding poverty for millionsButtressed by the IMF deal, Sri Lanka’s economy has posted a tentative recovery. The younger Premadasa polled 42% of the votes in 2019 to finish second, behind Rajapaksa, in the last presidential election. Support from farming communities in north and central Sri Lanka helped him close the gap on Dissanayake as counting progressed.

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Persons: Kumara Dissanayake, Sajith Premadasa, Sri Lanka’s, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Dissanayake, Premadasa, Lanka’s, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, ”, Pradeep Peiris, ” Dissanayake, Eranga, Ranasinghe Premadasa, Rajapaksa Organizations: Sri, Sunday, University of Colombo, Monetary Fund, Marxist, IMF, National People’s Power, JVP Locations: “, Sri Lanka's, Colombo, Sri, Sri Lankans, Premadasa’s, Sri Lanka