The 2024 elections in Sri Lanka: political and economic prospects

Panel discussion organised by ODI, NUS, ISAS

The 2024 elections in Sri Lanka: political and economic prospects

Link: https://odi.org/en/events/the-2024-elections-in-sri-lanka-political-and-economic-prospects/#Speakers

Description

In April 2022, the Sri Lankan government announced a pre-emptive sovereign default on its external debt payments following a balance of payments crisis. The disruption of essential imports and prolonged power cuts led to mass stress protests, forcing the resignation of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022. Subsequently, the new president-elect, Ranil Wickremesinghe, secured a US$3 billion Extended Fund Facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2022.

Under Wickremesinghe, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led government is implementing a stabilisation programme to meet the IMF’s conditionalities. Macroeconomic indicators have improved since 2022, with inflation having eased faster than forecasted and gross official foreign reserves having increased to US$5.6 billion by June 2024. However, the economic hardships faced by most people in Sri Lanka are still extremely high. Data from the World Bank reveals a stark increase in poverty rates, doubling from 13.1 percent in 2021 to 25 percent in 2022. This has added an additional 2.5 million people into poverty in 2022.

It is in this context that the 2024 presidential election is scheduled for 21 September 2024. This is the first election to be held since 2020 and the 2022 people’s protests. The three frontrunner candidates are:

– Ranil Wickremesinghe: Incumbent president, running as an independent candidate, backed by a majority of SLPP members of parliament.

– Sajith Premadasa: Candidate for the main opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

– Anura Kumara Dissanayake: Candidate for the National People’s Power (NPP), of which the Communist-Leninist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna is the main party.

All three political camps back the IMF programme to various degrees. There is also some consensus among these parties regarding power devolution as a key means to resolve the ethnic question. There are other smaller political parties and factions, and these will influence the political discourse in the lead-up to elections and after.

This online panel discussion will discuss the various scenarios and anticipated developments in the lead-up to and after the September election.

Speakers

  • Dr Iqbal S Sevea

    Associate Professor Iqbal Singh Sevea (Chairperson)

    Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS

  • Ganeshan Wignaraja.png

    Dr Ganeshan Wignaraja

    Visiting Senior Fellow, ODI and Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS

  • Dirk Willem te Velde.jpg

    Professor Dirk Willem te Velde

    Principal Research Fellow and Director, International Economic Development Group, ODI

  • Professor Nira Wickremesinghe

    Professor Nira Wickremasinghe

    Professor of Modern South Asian Studies, Leiden University, Netherlands

  • Professor C Raja Mohan

    Professor C Raja Mohan

    Visiting Research Professor, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS

  • Dr Rajni Gamage

    Dr Rajni Gamage

    Research Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS

@Rajni_Gamage

NR

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OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
NR (21 septembre 2024). The 2024 elections in Sri Lanka: political and economic prospects. SRI LANKA & DIASPORAS. Consulté le 24 mars 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/12c3h


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