Two years ago, tens of thousands of Sri Lankans rose up against their president and forced him to flee the country.

Sri Lankans go to the polls this weekend for the country’s first election since defaulting on piles of sovereign debt in 2022, when the nation plunged into its worst economic crisis across 70 years of independence.

Election officials carry ballot boxes a day before the presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sept. 20, 2024. Sri Lanka's presidential election will take place on Sept. 21 with over 17 million registered voters to elect the South Asian country's president for the next five years.