“NOT OUT OF THE WOODS”
More than 17 million people are eligible to vote in the election.
Polls open at 7am (1.30am GMT) with counting to begin on Saturday evening.
A result is expected on Sunday, but an official outcome could be delayed if the contest is close.
Schools were closed on Friday to be converted to polling stations, which will be staffed by more than 200,000 public servants deployed to conduct the vote.
Economic issues dominated the eight-week campaign, with public anger widespread over the hardships endured since the peak of the crisis two years ago.
Official data showed that Sri Lanka’s poverty rate doubled to 25 per cent between 2021 and 2022, adding more than 2.5 million people to those already living on less than US$3.65 a day.
Experts warn that Sri Lanka’s economy is still vulnerable, with payments on the island’s US$46 billion foreign debt yet to resume since a 2022 government default.
The IMF said reforms enacted by Wickremesinghe’s government were beginning to pay off, with growth slowly returning.
“A lot of progress has been made,” the IMF’s Julie Kozack told reporters in Washington last week.
“But the country is not out of the woods yet.”
