Sri Lankans vote today in shadow of political dynasty

Protesters who toppled the Rajapaksa government in 2022 are hoping for change, but two of the candidates are closely linked to the establishmen

- Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

In the summer of 2022, Pali Abeywickrama and his friends marched to the presidential palace during Sri Lanka’s popular anti-government uprising. They and thousands of others stormed Gotabaya Rajapaksa‘s residence and forced the president to flee the country, in scenes that made headlines around the world.

Mr Abeywickrama is now gearing up for another march, this time to the polling station to cast his vote in today’s election, the first to be held since the “aragalaya” (struggle) that brought down the Rajapaksa regime.

Hundreds and thousands of people across the island took to the streets in July 2022 after struggling with an acute food, medicine, and fuel shortage triggered by soaring inflation. Two years later the collective public anger may have abated, but the economic condition of the nation of 22 million people remains volatile.

Today’s election is both unpredictable and crucial, with a record number of 38 candidates, all men, in the fray.

There has not been a single presidential election in Sri Lanka without the participation of the Rajapaksa family in over two decades and today’s will be no exception. The candidature of Namal Rajapaksa, the 38-year-old son of another former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has sparked fears about a resurgence of the Rajapaksa dynasty on the troubled island.

“The protests were the need of the hour and there is no place for the Rajapaksas in Sri Lankan politics,” 33-year-old trader Abeywickrama tells The Independent. “The act of storming the palace was revolutionary,” he says. He hopes the future of the island will change for the better, “but the protests unfortunately made very little difference.”