Sri Lanka heads to the polls

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00:00Thank you so much for joining us on the programme, Dylan. Really appreciate your time.

00:04So polls are suggesting that Aruna Desana Yankeh from the JVP party could be

00:09the frontrunner. Tell us who you think has the best chance of securing a presidency here.

00:16It's difficult to answer. According to polling, Desana Yankeh seems to have the lead.

00:23But we don't know if the minority will support him, especially the Tamil minority, because

00:31during the campaign he reaffirmed that he doesn't regret to have supported Rajapaksa's war

00:42against the former separatist movement, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Nadu.

00:49So that can annihilate him, the vote of the Tamil minorities. And the thing is,

00:57we're not sure about what economic policy will follow. He said he will renegotiate

01:07the agreement concluded with IFM, whereas Sajid Premadasa and Vikram Singh

01:18both want to follow it with just a slight difference with Premadasa, who want to negotiate

01:26to negotiate the tax hikes and also the privatisation of national firms.

01:41So Desana Yankeh, according to the polls, he seems to have more chance to be elected. But

01:49I think you have the possibility that people will maybe be afraid that if he's elected, maybe

01:56he will not be able to help to resolve the economic problem and financial problem the island

02:06is facing. Well, Delon, you just set out for us a little bit there why the economy is such a top

02:12priority for voters in these elections. Tell us more about how big of a role the economy is set

02:17to play. Sorry? Tell us more about how big of a role the economy will play in these elections.

02:26It's a main role because people are struggling a lot because Vikram Singh managed to get a

02:34bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund. But in exchange, he has to

02:42adopt drastic measures and reforms, like tax hikes, a cut on different

02:53social subventions allowed by the state, for example, for electricity, for some food supply.

03:05So that's a real issue for most of us Sri Lankans. And that's why, contrary to former

03:14presidential election, where the main important thing was the question of security or identity

03:25integration, this one is really focused on the economy and finance.

03:32And tell us what other concerns are on the top of voters' minds as they cast their ballots today.

03:40As I said, maybe for the minorities, what about their situation? Some are afraid also because

03:46this NAEK is from the GVP party, which is a Marxist but also a single nationalist party,

03:56who was against the Tamil separatist movement because they were against the division of the

04:06country. So in that sense, you can have division among Sri Lankans, maybe if he's elected,

04:15and he will maybe not have the support of the Tamils.

04:19And also, let's talk a little bit about the protests that happened in the wake of that

04:25economic collapse or in the lead up to the economic collapse in 2022.

04:29What's the legacy of those protests and how will they maybe impact this vote?

04:37I would say this NAEK, actually, his movement was actually, the GVP has only four seats in

04:45the parliament. But the GVP was very active and this NAEK was very implicated in the

04:54Aragalaya protest movement. That's why he gets a lot of support from the population,

05:01especially among youngsters and some of the leaders of Aragalaya. And that's why he's in

05:07a position because traditionally, Sri Lanka is a B party political system. You had the United

05:14National Party and the Sri Lankan Freedom Party, who used to compete to gain power.

05:23This time you have a third main, that's this NAEK. And it's due to this Aragalaya movement.

05:30And people may support this NAEK, especially because he's the one also who was against

05:40this bailout agreement concluded by Vikram Singh with the International Monetary Fund.

05:51Dr. Delon Madavan, Research Associate at the Centre for Studies and Research on India,

05:57South Asia and the Diaspora at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Thank you so much for

06:01joining us on the programme. We really appreciate your thoughts there on the elections in Sri Lanka.

06:06Thank you for your invitation.

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