Colombo: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday said that the island nation's bankruptcy is officially due to end on Thursday, remarks aimed at boosting his re-election chances on the last day of the presidential election campaign.
A discussion between the government and international sovereign bondholders would take place on Thursday following which Sri Lanka's bankruptcy will officially end and support from all countries will be restored, he said while addressing a rally at Matara, a southern town.
"We have given light to the country which was in darkness, eradicated the hunger of the people and restored our beloved motherland...So give me your valuable vote," he said in a post on X. As many as 38 candidates have been contesting the election, with over 17.1 million registered voters eligible to elect a president for five years.
The campaigning for the election would end tonight and no election propaganda work would be permitted from midnight in terms of election laws. The Election Commission has said that this would mark the beginning of a silent period that will last until the election day on September 21. All candidates are having a series of rallies in different parts of the island leading to the grand finale of campaigning.
Wickremesinghe is entangled in a three-way contest with his main challengers Marxist JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, putting up impressive shows.
Speaking at a campaign rally, Premadasa pledged to bring those responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks to justice, if elected. "We are committed to finding the truth about the Easter attacks. Not only the masterminds but all the individuals and groups involved in the Easter attack will be brought to justice," said Premadasa, the presidential candidate of Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB).
He assured the bishops' conference, led by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, that his government would impose the maximum punishment on those responsible. Premadasa criticized the spread of misinformation for political gain, particularly during the election period. He condemned the use of "dirty politics" and urged the public not to be misled by false accusations.
Wickremesinghe became the crisis prime minister in May and when a popular uprising ousted the incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa he became the president for Rajapaksa's balance term in July 2022. He steered the economy through the IMF bailout ended long lines for fuel and essentials and ended long hours of power cuts. He engineered reforms based on recovery by recording positive growth for the first time after six quarters of successive minus growth.
He seeks a fresh mandate to carry forward the reforms to consolidate the economy. His rivals have condemned the hardships caused by his recovery effort but vowed to continue with the IMF program while trying to get the global lender to soften some of the tough conditions.
R M A L Ratnayake, the Chairman of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, said all election offices established by political parties must be removed by midnight. Ratnayake also mentioned that voters who have not yet received their official polling cards still have the opportunity to collect them from their local post office.
