President Ranil Wickremesinghe gestures as he arrives at the Election Commission in Rajagiriya to submit his nomination papers for the upcoming Presidential election, scheduled for September 21, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on August 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the front runner in the Presidential poll scheduled for next month, was on Friday (August 16, 2024) endorsed by a grand coalition of more than 30 political parties and groups.

This comes after Mr. Wickremesinghe (75) announced himself as the independent candidate on Thursday (August 15, 2024) by handing over nominations to contest the September 21 Presidential election.

Election crucial for Sri Lanka’s future: President Ranil Wickremesinghe

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the now decimated grand old party, the United National Party (UNP), is backed by the Rajapaksa family breakaways from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

Mr. Wickremesinghe was elected as the stop-gap President after then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted in a popular uprising following his inability to handle the country’s unprecedented economic crisis that led to a shortage of essential commodities.

The SLPP of the Rajapaksas provided Mr. Wickremesinghe with Parliamentary support to become the President but did not approve of the incumbent President’s hard reforms to revive the bankrupt economy. The SLPP has fielded the heir apparent of the dynasty Namal Rajapaksa (38) against him.

Mr. Wickremesinghe, who initiated a hard reform programme led by the International Monetary Fund, took upon reviving the economy with the support from his SLPP-dominated Cabinet.

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“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,” Mr. Wickremesinghe, also the Finance Minister, said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe, since being elected, implemented hard economic reforms as necessitated by the IMF to secure a bail-out of nearly $3 billion over four years.

His hard reforms brought in stability although the Opposition said the economic hardships caused by the IMF deal had left the public in the lurch. The Opposition has vowed to renegotiate the IMF programme to provide relief to the public.

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

There have been several individuals who changed loyalties to Mr. Wickremesinghe and Premadasa and vice-versa since the election was announced by the island nation’s independent election commission.