Newsday - Sri Lanka’s presidential candidates: More of the same? - BBC Sounds

Sri Lanka's MPs now have a list of three candidates to replace the ousted and widely reviled Gotabaya Rajapaksa - but two of them are closely associated with the former president or his party.

The acting president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, is thought to be the front runner after the governing Sri Lanka People's Front (SLPP) expressed its support. But he'll face a tough challenge from a veteran politician, Dullas Alahapperuma, who's supported by a section of the governing party. A leftist party leader Anura Dissanayake is the third candidate.

Harini Amarasuriya, a colleague of Anura Dissanayake, said neither the acting president nor his main rival, would be acceptable to her or to the crowds who've spent months demonstrating for change. She told Newsday: “Sri Lankans are demanding a huge transformation and that’s a break from the politics of the past.”