COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's election panel gave approval on Thursday for President Ranil Wickremesinghe to contest a presidential poll set for Sept. 21 in the Indian Ocean nation, grappling with the fallout of its worst financial crisis in decades.

       Wickremesinghe was among 39 candidates to submit nominations for the vote, key to charting Sri Lanka's way out of a crisis unleashed after exhausting its foreign reserves, sending the economy into freefall and defaulting on foreign debt in 2022.

       "We have to stabilise the economy," Wickremesinghe told reporters after his candidacy was announced.

       "What we are saying is, 'Let’s go ahead and finish this job.' That’s why I’m asking for your support."

       Two Buddhist monks were among those who registered, in one of the highest such figures on record, to contest the vote, in which about 17 million Sri Lankans are eligible to cast ballots.

       Wickremesinghe, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and Marxist-leaning parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake are seen as frontrunners.

       "This is an opportunity for the people to bring about genuine change and create a new political culture," Dissanayake, whom analysts consider a dark horse contender, said while leaving the Election Commission after it approved his candidacy.

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       "That is our aim and I'm confident we can win."

       After being elected by parliament in July 2022, Wickremesinghe, 75, has shepherded the island through the crisis, which triggered widespread protests and forced his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign.

       A surprise entrant to the fray is Namal Rajapaksa, 38, one of 225 lawmakers and the eldest son of two-time president Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, which has a parliamentary majority.

       "We are ready for elections and we have always protected the democracy of this country and we have always believed that government changes should happen through people," Rajapaksa said at the election panel's office.

       The winner will have to shore up the fragile economic recovery, implement a four-year $2.9-billion programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), finalise a $12.5-billion debt restructuring and focus on achieving sustainable growth. REUTERS