Mr. Wickremesinghe, 75, a six-time former prime minister, is a political survivor. His elevation to the presidency in 2022, after the overthrow of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, plucked him out of irrelevance and demonstrated his formidable bargaining powers.

Women make up more than half of the voters in Sri Lanka, but in Saturday’s presidential election, not even one will be on the ballot.

By Uditha Jayasinghe and Sudipto Ganguly COLOMBO (Reuters) -Millions of Sri Lankans were casting their votes on Saturday to elect a president who will face the task of bolstering the South Asian country's fragile economic recovery following its worst financial crisis in decades.