Sri Lanka's presidential race down to 3 candidates

NEW DELHI

Three candidates are in the race to become Sri Lanka's next president in Wednesday's vote as the country grapples with its worst financial crisis.

Sajith Premadasa, the opposition candidate and a likely frontrunner, on Tuesday withdrew from the race in a surprise move.

"For the greater good of my country that I love and the people I cherish I hereby withdraw my candidacy for the position of President," Premadasa wrote on Twitter.

Sri Lanka's acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe will face opposition-backed Dullas Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara Dissanayake during the secret ballot vote.

Alahapperuma, is a former education minister and a dissident member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party, which is controlled by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa clan. Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned last week amid mass protests.

The third candidate is Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National Peoples’ Power party, which has only three members in Parliament.

Last week, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country's interim president after Rajapaksa fled the country. The country's parliament started the process to elect a new president.

According to a statement by Parliament on Tuesday, "... three Members of Parliament were proposed and seconded in the Parliament today (19) for the vacancy of the Presidency."

"Tomorrow (July 20) one of these three MPs is to be elected as the Succeeding President by the votes of the Members of Parliament," the statement added.

Mass protests

Rajapaksa fled to Singapore from the Maldives on Thursday, having left Sri Lanka in the grip of economic chaos as months of nationwide mass protests called for his ouster.

Singapore's Foreign Ministry confirmed he reached the city-state on a "private visit."

He escaped from Sri Lanka after thousands of protesters stormed the presidential palace in the capital Colombo and set fire to the prime minister’s house.

Sri Lankans blame the Rajapaksa political dynasty for the crisis. Rajapaksa’s brother Mahinda resigned as prime minister in May.

Crippled by a shortage of foreign exchange reserves after the collapse of its tourism-dependent economy, the island nation of 22 million people has defaulted on all its foreign debt.

It has been unable to pay for food, fuel, and other essentials, with the fuel shortage in turn leading to prolonged daily power cuts. Schools have been closed and state employees asked to work from home.

The government is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package, but no deal has been finalized so far.