In southern Sri Lanka, a chant for change this poll season

Sri Lanka presidention election: In the five years between 2019, when Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected President, and now, the country’s political landscape and economic path have altered drastically, making the September 21 poll unlike any other the island nation has seen

Buddhika Dissanayake says she has never had to think so hard before an election. “Earlier, we voted for the party that our family backed for generations, it was an easy choice,” says the middle-aged voter in Kurunegala district, in Sri Lanka’s North Western Province. With hardly a fortnight left for the island nation’s crucial presidential election, she is undecided.

Her dilemma is not uncommon among Sri Lankan voters gearing up for the September 21 contest, in which some 17 million voters will have a say. In the five years between 2019, when Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected President, and now, the country’s political landscape and economic path have altered drastically, making this presidential poll unlike any other the island nation has seen.

In the eight presidential elections preceding this, the country’s two major political camps — the centre-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the centre-right United National Party (UNP), or their political offshoots — fielded a candidate each. Each of those elections, fought hard by two ideologically opposed contestants, yielded a clear winner.

But this time, voters are navigating a more complex electoral field with three main contestants. Incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, who replaced ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksathrough a parliamentary vote, is running as an independent candidate. His two foremost challengers, Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, are in opposition.

“We must think hard and choose carefully,” says Ms. Dissanayake, pointing to the daunting task facing the next head of state and government – fixing Sri Lanka’s broken economy.

Kurunegala is a district with high external migration, sending a large number of women for domestic work. The long median dividing a main road in town advertises agencies promising jobs abroad. As a counsellor to migrant workers on their safety, Ms. Dissanayake meets many who are desperately seeking jobs abroad, after the financial crisis and resultant austerity measures plunged their households in poverty.

“Whoever is elected must wipe out corruption that is rampant, and rebuild our economy,” she says. “We can’t let things remain this way”.