Wickremensignhe’s main challengers — opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and parliamentarian Anura Dissanayake, a surprise top contender who heads a new leftist coalition — have promised major political changes, including renegotiating a deal with the International Monetary Fund to win more favorable terms.

Sri Lankans are voting for a new president in the first election since mass protests sparked by the country's worst-ever economic crisis unseated the leader in 2022. Saturday's vote is widely regarded as a referendum on economic reforms meant to put the country on the road to recovery.

Women make up more than half of the voters in Sri Lanka, but in Saturday’s presidential election, not even one will be on the ballot

More than three dozen candidates are vying to lead Sri Lanka out of an economic collapse that led to the 2022 ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Sri Lankans are voting in a presidential election that will determine the course of the country’s recovery from its worst economic crisis and resulting political upheaval

Thirty-eight candidates are running for president of the Asian nation of Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from a 2022 economic collapse. Its incumbent president faces a tight race.