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

Sri Lanka's election this coming Saturday has raised doubts over when its long-awaited debt deal with bondholders will be finalised, if it keeps up with its IMF programme targets and even whether it results in a president inclined to change both.

Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe did not scrap his re-election campaign days before the bankrupt nation voted in the first poll since its economic collapse, contrary to claims spread online.

Sri Lankans who usually vote along religious and ethnic lines will be keeping the state of the economy in mind when they vote Saturday on a new president.

Sri Lankans will vote on Saturday for their next president, who will be key to deciding the future of reforms in a nation slowly emerging from worst financial crisis in decades.