21/9/2024–|Last update: 9/21/202411:21 AM (Makkah Time)
Colombo– Voters began to Sri LankaThis Saturday morning, people are heading to the polls in the country's ninth presidential election. According to the head of the Election Commission, Ratna Yake, the election campaign did not witness any incidents that would harm the electoral process, while it was described as the most peaceful in the history of Sri Lankan elections.
The number of eligible voters exceeds 17 million out of a total population of more than 22 million. Thirty-eight candidates are competing, but opinion polls have narrowed the competition to three candidates: the current president Ranil Wickremesinghe (75 years old), the leader of the opposition in parliament, Sajith Peramadasa (57 years old), and the leader of the leftist movement, Anura Kumara Dissanayaka (55 years old).
Disanyaka presents himself as an alternative to all previous political regimes, which he accuses of corruption and of bringing the country to the brink of collapse by destroying it economically and socially and damaging its reputation globally.
While opposition leader Peramadasa pledges radical reforms, and relies on his popularity to build on the legacy of his father, who was assassinated by the TTP, Tamil Tigers In 1993, the current president considers himself the country's savior from its economic and political crisis.
radical change
While Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned that his economic reform programme will be halted if he loses the election, Dissanayaka has pledged a radical change in the system of government if he comes to power.
The leftist candidate predicted a smooth and peaceful transfer of power, and said after casting his vote in the capital Colombo this morning that he called on the current president Wickremesinghe to hand over power to avoid any negative consequences. The leftist candidate has topped opinion polls as the most likely among the main contenders in the presidential election.
Many observers see the current presidential election as a referendum on the political elite, especially if Disanyaka wins, and that economic issues and racism are at the top of the candidates' agenda.
These elections come two years after a stifling economic crisis that put the country on the brink of bankruptcy and toppled the rule of the family. Rajapaksa…and after the widespread racist exploitation of the Easter attacks that the country was subjected to in 2019, which led to the killing and wounding of more than 900 people.
Although the Rajapaksa family fielded Namal, son of former President Mahida Rajapaksa, as a candidate, opinion polls on the eve of the election put him out of the running. Many political analysts attribute his poor fortunes to continued popular discontent with the family’s policies, which have led to ethnic and religious divisions and unprecedented economic decline.
Reform Project
On the other hand, many consider the current President Wickremesinghe an extension of the Rajapaksa rule, but Foreign and Justice Minister Ali Sabri defended him by saying that he is running for election as an independent,The current president is credited with getting the Rajapaksa family off the scene and saving the country from its economic and racial crisis.”
The minister is referring to the agreements concluded with the International Monetary Fund, including a $3 billion rescue package signed last year and awaiting implementation.
Sabry believes that the current president, who has held the position of prime minister six times during more than four decades of his political life, is the most worthy of a new presidential term, and he is credited with spreading talk of unity and rejecting division on religious, ethnic or regional grounds during the elections.
In response to accusations of corruption and mismanagement directed at successive political regimes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Justice said that the President has a reform project and is fighting corruption, and a policy of shifting the economy towards exports.
He downplayed criticism of the president and his previous policies, saying, “It is not necessary to convince everyone in democratic systems, but it is enough to convince the majority.”
Referring to the chaos that the country witnessed two years ago, Sabri said that people compare that era to the unprecedented security now in Sri Lanka’s electoral history. According to him, stability has been made possible by what President Wickremesinghe’s government has done.
Palestine is present in the elections
On the other hand, many Sri Lankan politicians confirm that this is the first time that the Palestinian issue has entered the electoral file in Sri Lanka, and all candidates have adopted ideas denouncing the war being waged by Israel On the Palestinian people and demands that they be enabled to exercise the right to self-determination.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, the Foreign Minister said that supporting the Palestinian cause is a matter of popular and official consensus. He said that Sri Lanka supported the recent UN General Assembly resolution calling for ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state. He added, “We support Palestine and continue to support the rights of the Palestinian people and condemn Israel's violations in the occupied territories.”
He stressed the need for a ceasefire and the achievement of Two-state solution To end the conflict, he added that Sri Lanka is proud of this policy and will continue with it until the Palestinians achieve independence, sovereignty and self-determination.