Sri Lanka: Front-runner in Prez elections, Ranil gets backing of 30 outfits

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the front-runner in the presidential elections due next month, on Friday, got the backing of a coalition of more than 30 political parties and groups.

This comes after Wickremesinghe, 75, announced himself as an independent candidate on Thursday by submitting nominations for the September 21 presidential ballot.

Wickremesinghe, the leader of the now also-ran United National Party (UNP), is backed by the Rajapaksa family breakaways from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

SLPP nominates Namal

Wickremesinghe was elected as a stop-gap president after incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted in a popular uprising in 2022 following mass protests against an unprecedented economic crisis.

The SLPP has fielded the Namal Rajapaksa, 38, son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, against Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe, who initiated economic reforms on the urging of the International Monetary Fund, on Thursday spoke about how he rescued the economy from the brink.

Ranil claims economic turnaround

“I'm thankful to those who supported me to handle this difficult task. They did not run away when challenged to perform the responsibilities of the country," said Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister.

His reforms, not widely appreciated though, have ended the earlier shortages of essential commodities but the Opposition says that people continue to face hardships.

Main rivals

Wickremesinghe’s main rivals are his former deputy Sajith Premadasa and the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Several individuals have changed loyalties to Wickremesinghe and Premadasa and vice versa since the election was announced by the election commission.