Heir apparent to Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa family will run in presidential election

8/8/2024 13:57

        The man who is considered the heir apparent to the powerful Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka will contest the presidential election in September, his political party said Wednesday, in an apparent bid to regain his family's lost power after a humiliating setback two years ago during an unprecedented economic crisis in the Indian ocean island nation.
        
        The Sri Lanka People's Front said the 38-year-old lawyer Namal Rajapaksa, the eldest son of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa, will be its candidate in the Sept. 21 election, the first since the nation plunged into its worst economic crisis.
        
        The election is seen as key to Sri Lanka's efforts to conclude a critical debt restructuring program and completing the financial reforms agreed to under a bailout program by the International Monetary Fund.
        
        The nominations for polling will be accepted on Aug. 15.