More than three dozen candidates are vying to lead Sri Lanka out of an economic collapse that led to the 2022 ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

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. The election, contested by 38 candidates,

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.