Sri Lanka Presidential elections: Will they deliver on the political expectations of the 2022 protesters? | In Focus podcast

In Focus by The Hindu

Two years after an economic crisis sparked mass protests and a major political upheaval, Sri Lanka is getting set for Presidential elections. While the actual date is yet to be finalised, we know that it would be between September 17th and October 16th. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been saying that the country has gotten over the worst of the economic crisis, thanks to his able leadership, and that politics can return to normal.

But is the economic crisis really over? The ‘Aragalaya’ protesters in 2022 had deemed the entire political elite unfit to govern, and wanted a different politics. Will they get that in the election to come? Among the three main contenders - Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP), Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), and Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, is any one likely to emerge as a clear frontrunner? Most critically, is any politician offering an economic vision for the country that does not necessarily have the fingerprints of the IMF?

Guest: Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu’s correspondent in Colombo.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.