evidence: The south Asian and Indian Ocean region is going through a "difficult time", Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday in an exclusive interview to NDTV. Sri Lanka will hold elections on September 21 to elect the next President. Mr Wickremesinghe, who took over as President when Sri Lanka was going through its worst-ever economic crisis, has steered the economy back towards normalcy. His re-election will prove to be an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted by his government after the island nation's unprecedented financial crisis. Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking a fresh mandate after claiming credit for stabilising the economy and bringing an end to months of food, fuel and medicine shortages.