<p>The presidential election in Sri Lanka is to take place on September 21, the independent elections commission announced today.</p>
<p>The announcement ended months-long speculation that the election would be postponed to extend the term of the incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe.</p>
<p>The government gazette no 2394/51 issued today said in terms of Article 31 (3) of the constitution the election would take place on September 21 while the nominations would be accepted on August 15.</p>
<p>The election announcement set to end the balanced term of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was ousted mid 2022 in a popular public uprising. Rajapaksa had been elected with a record near 7 million votes in November 2019 when the last presidential election was held.</p>
<p>Tens of thousands who got into the streets in early 2022 demanded Rajapaksa to step down for his failure to tackle the island&rsquo;s gravest economic crisis since 1948.</p>
<p>Rajapaksa was forced to flee the country on July 9, 2022, and incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe who was the crisis prime minister was elected through parliament to succeed Rajapaksa.</p>
<p>Wickremesinghe undertook the difficult task of reviving the bankrupt economy by tapping a bail-out facility from the IMF.</p>
<p>India provided Sri Lanka with a lifeline of 4 billion dollars in the first quarter of 2022 which paid for food and essentials imports in the balance of payment crisis.</p>
<p>By mid-April Sri Lanka had declared its first sovereign default. A year later came the IMF`s first tranche of the nearly 3 billion facility to be extended over 4 years.</p>
<p>However, the stringent reforms attached to the program made the government unpopular.</p>
<p>Wickremesinghe stood firm in his commitment to implement reforms and has vowed to steer the country out of bankruptcy.</p>
<p>He is expected to vie for his return as the president.</p>
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Ranil Wickremesinghe undertook the difficult task of reviving the bankrupt economy by tapping a bail-out facility from the IMF.

Sri Lanka sets September date for presidential election

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Sri Lanka sets September date for presidential election

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