STORY: Sudath Kumara and his wife Nilmini live in a house illegally built on state-owned land in Sri Lanka.
They have nowhere else to go, they say, and could be evicted at any moment.
Kumara blames the previous administration for his dire financial situation.
He hopes to change his fortunes in a parliamentary election on Thursday (November 14) by not voting for one of the family parties that have dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades.
“I have been voting since around 1991. I have voted for all the main parties before, but I have not gotten anything. The country also has not progressed at all.”
Kumara lives in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota district – the stronghold of the once powerful Rajapaksa family.
They gave Sri Lanka two of its presidents over a dozen years in power.
But they saw their political fortunes wane after a financial crisis sparked a massive public outcry that ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022.
In September’s presidential election, the Kumaras were among those who voted Anura Kumara Dissanayake into power.
He is an outsider of Sri Lanka’s political families.
Millions have put their faith in the Marxist-leaning Dissanayake’s promises to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery.
However, his National People’s Power coalition, or NPP, had just three out of 225 seats in parliament.
That prompted him to dissolve the legislature and seek a fresh mandate there for his policies.
With the backing of Dissanayake’s supporters, NPP candidate Athula Welandagoda is confident he will secure a seat in the parliament.
“In the last election, the people rejected family rule and handed power over to people who would be accountable to ordinary citizens. We believe that in the general election, people will do the same and give us more than five of the seven seats available in the Hambantota district.”
Thursday will be the first time in 88 years that a member of the Rajapaksa family is not contesting an election.
However, Namal Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is leading the campaign for their Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party.
He received just 2.57% in the presidential poll.
But he says he is confident he can rebuild the party and transform it into a major political force in the future.
