Sri Lanka plans for presidential election between September and October
The election announcement comes as Sri Lanka holds talks with global investors to restructure some US$12 billion in defaulted global bonds
SRI Lanka announced plans to vote for a president between September and October as the South Asian country looks to get back on track after the worst economic crisis in its independent history.
The Election Commission will carry out the presidential poll on a day between Sep 17 and Oct 16 after calling for nominations for candidates, according to a statement on Thursday (May 9).
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose term ends in November, is likely to seek a mandate for the economic reforms he is carrying out in exchange for a US$3 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund. Wickremesinghe was elected by lawmakers in July 2022 after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned following weeks of street protests.
The election announcement comes as Sri Lanka holds talks with global investors to restructure some US$12 billion in defaulted global bonds. Wickremesinghe said earlier on Thursday that his aim is to complete the debt restructuring by June. BLOOMBERG
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