COLOMBO: The eldest son of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, will contest the presidential election in September, his political party said on Wednesday.
The Sri Lanka Peoples’ Front said the 38-year-old lawyer Namal Rajapaksa will be its candidate in the Sept. 21 polls.
His decision to contest the election is apparently an attempt to regain his family’s lost power during an unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka two years ago.
Sri Lanka through the election is trying to conclude a debt restructuring program and completing the financial reforms agreed under a bailout package by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The nominations for the elections will be accepted on August 15.
The Rajapaksa family has dominated the politics of Sri Lanka politics since the country gained independence from Britain in 1948. Mahinda Rajapaksa served as president from 2005 to 2015.
In 2015, he lost the power against the opposition party led by his former aide. But Rajapaksa’s younger brother Gotabaya won the presidential election in 2019.
However, the Rajapaksa family lost power in 2022 when Sri Lanka faced its worst economic crisis which was largely caused by mismanagement and lack of accountability.
The riots in 2022, led to a political crisis that forced Rajapaksa’s four siblings and two of their sons, to resign from their posts as president, prime minister and ministers.
Parliament later elected Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president.
The economic situation improved under Wickremesinghe, but public dissatisfaction has grown over the government’s effort to enhance revenue by raising electricity bills and imposing heavy taxes on professionals and businessmen to meet the IMF conditions.
Wickremesinghe has also announced to contest the September election, while main rivals will be opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Anura Dissanayake.
It is not clear whether Namal would be able to win the presidential election, as his party is already split with some lawmakers pledged to support Wickremesinghe.
