Sri Lanka’s opposition leader says if he wins the presidential race he will renegotiate the International Monetary Fund economic reforms package to ensure that rich residents pay more taxes and poor ones see their conditions improve.

It’s Sri Lanka's first election since it saw mass protests that triggered its worst economic crisis.

Rajapaksas were ousted in 2022 by angry protesters who blamed them for country's economic crisis

(Bloomberg) — 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. The contest pits the incumbent president who negotiated the bailout, against the country’s main opposition leader — both members of the Sri Lankan political elite — and a Marxist politician waging a populist campaign. The three have put contrasting views before voters over how to steer the South Asian nation past the crisis.

75-year-old Wickremesinghe says he needs more time to push tough austerity measures