Polling stations closed in Sri Lanka and vote counting began on Saturday in the first presidential election since the 2022 economic crisis, which led to the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

More than 17 million people had been expected to vote, with results anticipated by Sunday. Turnout was close to 70% an hour before polls closed, an election commission official said, citing provisional figures. The record for turnout in a Sri Lankan presidential election, 83.72%, was set in 2019.

Early results suggested that Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayaka was in the lead.

Economic recovery has been the central issue of the campaign, with the government having restructured over $17 billion (€15.2 billion) of its debt.

Sri Lanka's economy buckled in 2022 when it defaulted on its foreign debt, following a severe foreign exchange shortage.

Who are the main candidates?

Of the 38 candidates competing in the presidential election, all eyes are on just three who have a high chance of success.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the current president and member of the United National Party (UNP), is seeking re-election after stabilizing the economy with an International Monetary Fund austerity plan, though his popularity has waned due to the high cost of living.

"I've taken this country out of bankruptcy," Wickremesinghe said after casting his vote. "I will now deliver Sri Lanka a developed economy, developed social system and developed political system."

Sajith Premadasa, leader of the opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), promises to ease the burden on the poor. In the 2019 election, he finished second with 41.99% of the vote.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Marxist candidate, has presented himself as an alternative to the traditional system, attracting young voters with his promise to overhaul the country’s "corrupt" political landscape.

His party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), staged two armed revolutions against the government in the 1970s and 1980s.

Economy is 'single biggest issue' for voters

Speaking from outside a polling station in Colombo, DW correspondent Shalu Yadav said the economy was the main factor driving people to vote in the wake of the economic crisis.

"The cost of living remains very high, unemployment remains very high, so people are still reeling from the economic crisis."

"This is a nation where, in the past, they have voted along the lines of religion, of race, and ethnicity but all of that is past now." 

"The economy is the single biggest issue on their minds now because they have been hit so hard in the past two years because of the economic blunders of the past government."

"Confidence in politics and politicians is at an all-time low."

Missing female representation

Sri Lanka's presidential election will not have a single woman on the ballot this year, even though women make up more than half of its 17 million eligible voters.

None of the record 38 candidates running for the presidency are women. The problem does not just affect the presidential office, women also only make up around 5% of the 255-member parliament.

"The main political parties are so male-oriented, and so many men on the top hold power, that they don't find it convenient to step aside and allow women party members to come up and contest," Women's rights activist Sepali Kottegoda told the Associated Press.

The country's politics has largely been male-dominated since universal suffrage was introduced in 1931, in line with the patriarchal structure of Sri Lankan society.

Women have been able to get to positions of power on the island, including the role of both prime minister and president. Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world's first female prime minister in 1960, however, this only came after her husband was assassinated while holding that role.

She managed to win reelection and held the job for two more terms. Her daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga, then also went on to become Sri Lanka's first and only female president, holding the post between 1994 and 2005.

fmf/rmt,ab (AFP, AP, Reuters)