COLOMBO: In a major development, Sri Lanka's Marxist politician Anura Kumara Dissanayaka took an early lead in Saturday's presidential election during the counting of postal ballots,

Voting has ended Saturday in Sri Lanka's presidential election as the country seeks to recover from the worst economic crisis in its history and the resulting political upheaval. The election, contested by 38 candidates,

Roughly 17 million Sri Lankans are heading to the polls in the first election since one of the country’s worst financial meltdowns, with meaningful repercussions for its economic recovery. After the nation’s debt default in 2022,