evidence: Back then, the former Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled the nation after an economic crisis led to political chaos in the country. Ranil Wickremesinghe subsequently took over as the acting President. Wickremesinghe has been in office for two years now. [...] There are 38 candidates in the fray. According to the Associated Press, it is largely a three-way contest between incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Marxist-leaning lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. [...] 1. Ranil Wickremesinghe: He is a six-time prime minister of Sri Lanka. Days after taking over as an acting president, he was officially elected as the President by a parliamentary vote in July 2022 to cover the remainder of Rajapaksa’s five-year term. Now, Wickremesinghe is seeking another term to strengthen the gains.