Two years after Sri Lanka's economic meltdown triggered mass protests, voters are preparing to pick a new president. With the country still facing massive debt and rising inflation, many will have the state of the economy in mind when they go to the polls.
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00:00Sugat Dhammika and his wife, Shama Nimali, used to do pretty well, but now they're struggling.
00:06They've spent most of their savings just to make ends meet and can no longer repay their debts.
00:13Their printing business has been hit hard by rising costs of raw materials,
00:18fuel and electricity in the last four years.
00:23I had up to five employees working for me. With the crisis,
00:27orders for printing gradually went down. Then I had to reduce my staff and sell
00:33some of my machines as well.
00:35I bought all my jewellery because of the cost of living.
00:39I am unable to buy it back, so it's owned by the bank now.
00:43My husband does all kinds of work nowadays to look after the family.
00:48That work includes driving an auto rickshaw,
00:51something he'd never have considered before the crisis.
00:55One in four Sri Lankans live in poverty, the World Bank says.
01:00Their struggle to afford basic necessities like food,
01:04medicines and fuel triggered nationwide protests in 2022.
01:09The economy has been bad for a long time. Just over two years ago, Sri Lankans protested here
01:15in central Colombo. They forced the president to flee and brought down the government.
01:20But the economy is still in crisis and still the number one issue
01:24that voters want to see politicians tackle.
01:26The future generation should stay here in Sri Lanka instead of going abroad for opportunities.
01:32That is what I want the government to ensure.
01:35The need of the country is to economic recovery and also stability.
01:41And also people expect a non-corrupt government.
01:45For the last two years, the government has stuck to the IMF plan
01:49to stop Sri Lanka going bankrupt.
01:52But its current foreign minister told us there is still work to do.
01:56Things are okay, but we are not out of the wood. You can't expect that to happen in two years' time.
02:02But compared to what we were, we are looking after the poor, vulnerable, providing them lunch,
02:07providing them fertilizer, providing them food, education, free health,
02:11as well as, in some cases, free rice and rations.
02:16His boss, President Ranil Vikramasinghe, is running in this election, hoping to win the full term.
02:23A veteran of Sri Lankan politics, his economic policy is closely tied to the IMF plan.
02:29Since he's been in charge, inflation has dropped from 70% to 5%.
02:35Interest rates have fallen, the rupee strengthened, and foreign reserves increased.
02:41But Vikramasinghe also faces claims of protecting corrupt officials
02:46from the previous administration.
02:49Challenging him is Sajith Premadasa, a career politician from a centrist party.
02:54He's pushing for changes to the $2.9 billion IMF bailout.
02:59He aims to adjust economic reforms and revamp taxes to reduce the cost of living.
03:06But all eyes are on Anurag Kumar Desanayake,
03:09whose popularity has surged since the protests.
03:13His anti-corruption message and promises of a political overhaul
03:18seem to resonate with voters wanting systemic change.
03:22His party also wants to renegotiate the IMF terms.
03:27None of the candidates hold much attraction for Sugat Dhammika and Shamani Mali.
03:33We do not feel like voting for any parties this time.
03:36Even so, the election on Saturday will have
03:39crucial implications for families like theirs across the country.