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.

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.

Voting has ended Saturday in Sri Lanka’s presidential election as the country seeks to recover from the worst economic crisis in its history and the resulting political upheaval.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankans began voting Saturday in a presidential election that will determine the course of the country’s recovery from its worst economic crisis and resulting political upheaval.

Sajith Premadasa, leader of Sri Lanka's main opposition party, is contesting the presidential election, decades after his father was assassinated while holding the same position. Premadasa’s policies advocate economic changes,

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party and Namal Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party cast their votes

Three decades after his father was assassinated as Sri Lanka's leader, opposition chief Sajith Premadasa is a top contender to take on the role in this week's presidential elections.

With 38 candidates in the race, Premadasa is polling second at 32%, according to the Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey, trailing Anura Kumara Dissanayake at 36% and ahead of President Ranil Wickremesinghe at 28%.

Sri Lanka's presidential candidates wrapped up their campaigning on Wednesday, 48 hours before the election, pledging to fix the island country's ailing economy that is struggling to recover from a debilitating financial crisis.