Sri Lanka begins counting of votes as polling ends

Sri Lankans voted on Saturday in an election to pick a president who will face the task of bolstering the country's fragile economic recovery following its worst financial crisis in decades.

The election is predicted to be a close contest between President Ranil Wickremesinghe, main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Marxist-leaning challenger Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Dissanayake narrowly led in one recent opinion poll.

Voting closed at 4 p.m. (1030 GMT) and counting started afterward, with results expected to be announced by the Election Commission on Sunday. Postal votes were to be counted first, senior commission official Saman Sri Ratnayake, told Reuters.

The country's election system allows voters to cast three preferential votes for their chosen candidates. If no candidate wins 50% in the first count, a second round of counting determines the winner between the two top candidates, using the preferential votes. Analysts say this will likely be the case given the close nature of the election.

Saturday's voting was peaceful across the South Asian island nation and queues outside booths lengthened as the day progressed, local TV channels showed. More than 13,000 polling stations were set up and 250,000 public officials were deployed to manage the election, the election body said.

More than 17 million of Sri Lanka's 22 million people were eligible to vote in the election, contested by some 38 candidates.

At Visakha Vidyalaya, a school about 15 km from Colombo, brisk polling was seen early in the morning as families, some of them accompanying their ageing parents, lined up next to coir ropes that created orderly lines for voters.

A large blow-up of the ballot paper was visible at the entrance to the booth set up next to blooming flower beds and a stretch of classrooms.

"I think we desperately need a change and I think a lot of people feel the same way. For us to have a future the entire country must have a future, first," said Niroshan Perera, 36, a supporter of Dissanayake.

First election since 2022 default

This is the first election since Sri Lanka's economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage, leaving the Indian Ocean island nation unable to pay for imports of essentials including fuel, medicine, and cooking gas.

Thousands of protesters marched in Colombo in 2022 and occupied the president's office and residence, forcing then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign.

Buttressed by a $2.9 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund, Sri Lanka's economy has posted a tentative recovery but the high cost of living remains a core issue for many voters.

Although inflation cooled to 0.5% last month from a crisis high of 70%, and the economy is forecast to grow in 2024 for the first time in three years, millions remain mired in poverty and debt, with many pinning hopes of a better future on their next leader.

Whoever wins the election will have to ensure Sri Lanka sticks with the IMF program until 2027 to get its economy on a stable growth path, reassure markets, attract investors and help a quarter of its people climb out of crisis-caused poverty.

"Your decision at the polls today will shape the future of our nation, not just for the next five years, but for generations to come," Foreign Minister Ali Sabry posted on X in support of Wickremesinghe. "Use your vote wisely so Sri Lanka can continue its recovery and move forward towards a sustainable and prosperous future."

Sri Lanka's ranked voting system allows voters to cast three preferential votes for their chosen candidates.

If no candidate wins 50% in the first count, there is a second round between the two frontrunners, with the preferential votes of other candidates redistributed, an outcome analysts say is likely given the close nature of the election.