Premadasa, son of slain Sri Lanka president, now in contest for same role

20/9/2024 16:50

        Sajith Premadasa, the leader of Sri Lanka's main opposition party, is a frontrunner in Saturday's presidential election and a win will hand him the top job more than 30 years after his father was assassinated while holding the same post.
        
        Premadasa, 57, studied at the London School of Economics and entered politics after his father, Ranasinghe Premadasa, was killed in a suicide bombing during a May Day rally in 1993.
        
        He entered parliament in 2000 and later served as Sri Lanka's deputy health minister. In 2018, he was appointed minister of housing construction and cultural affairs.
        
        The following year, Premadasa made his first run for the presidency. He gained 42% of the votes to finish second behind Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country in 2022 and later resigned amid widespread protests triggered by an economic meltdown.