Sri Lanka’s presidential election is expected to be a triangular contest and lawmakers on Tuesday proposed names of three people, including caretaker President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as candidates.
Elections to appoint a successor to former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa are due on July 20. The new president will serve for the remainder of former President Rajapaksa’s term until November 2024.
Rajapaksa had resigned following a mass movement against the government over the mismanagement of the economy. Wickremesinghe (73) will face Dullas Alhapperuma (63) and Anura Kumara Disanayake (53) in the presidential election. Alhapperuma is a staunch Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist and a member of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party. Dissanayake, on the other hand, is a prominent member of the leftist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).