Sri Lanka's next presidential election is expected to take place between September 17 and October 16, 2024. The vote will mark the first election to be held since former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned midway through his term and fled the country in 2022 amid the nationwide Aragalaya ("Struggle") protests against economic troubles, government mismanagement, and corruption. Following Rajapaksa's resignation, the parliament elected United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as president in July 2022. Wickremesinghe is considering running for a second term, potentially as an independent candidate, though he has yet to formally announce his campaign. His main rivals would be Sajith Premadasa, leader of the opposition and of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of both the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and left-leaning National People's Power (NPP).  

Sri Lanka has experienced improvements in political rights and civil liberties since 2015, and elections in recent years have generally been considered free and fair. The Election Commission of Sri Lanka (ECSL), the country's election management body, is largely seen as independent. For instance, in May 2024, when the UNP (led by President Wickremesinghe) proposed holding a referendum on delaying the presidential and parliamentary elections by two years, the ECSL publicly confirmed that the scheduled election dates would remain as mandated in the constitution. However, electoral flaws, including issues of vote buying, nontransparent campaign financing, and political intimidation persist. Additionally, in March 2023, local authority elections were indefinitely postponed by President Wickremesinghe without adequate justification, denying opposition parties an opportunity to gain power at the subnational level. 

Since coming into office, Wickremesinghe has attempted to curb dissent and suppress criticism by continuing the crackdown on activists, particularly those in the north and east and, more recently, those involved in the Aragalaya movement; perpetuating the repression of minority religious and ethnic groups; and enacting laws that limit online expression. For example, the new Online Safety Act (OSA) passed in January 2024 criminalizes broadly defined categories of speech, such as that which is deemed "false" or "harmful," and enables its removal by a government-appointed commission. Additionally, a draft Anti-Terrorism Bill, introduced in Parliament in January 2024, criminalizes vaguely defined categories of speech and provides the authorities with broad powers to detain people, undermining the rule of law and enabling arbitrary enforcement. The act would replace the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act, which is already deployed disproportionately against Muslims and Tamils.  

President Wickremesinghe has brought some stability to the country since the 2022 economic crisis, largely through austerity measures like a controversial Extended Fund Facility Program agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), from whom the government has received a $2.9 billion loan. Opposition party members have criticized the government's policy approach to addressing the crisis, which some claim favors the wealthy.  

Freedom House has identified the following as key digital interference issues to watch ahead of election day: 

• Information manipulation: Deliberately false and misleading information about candidates, electoral campaigns, and government decision-making spread on social media ahead of the 2023 local government elections, which were later postponed. Proxy accounts and Facebook pages associated with or supportive of the Rajapaksa family have previously disseminated content that aimed to discredit the Aragalaya movement in 2022. Ahead of the 2024 presidential elections, disinformation campaigns on social media have targeted political parties and candidates. False and misleading information about candidates, political parties, and policy issues can distort voters' understanding of electoral issues and impede the dissemination of reliable information. 
• Harassment and intimidation for online expression: Journalists and activists have frequently been the targets of intimidation and harassment for their online activities, especially during tense political moments. Such harassment and intimidation ahead of the upcoming presidential election, along with the potential use of the OSA by state officials, could fuel self-censorship. 
• Arrests and fines: Individuals have been prosecuted in retaliation for their online activities, including criticism of the government. In 2019, ahead of the presidential elections, a number of people were detained for criticizing the police on social media. G.P. Nissanka, editor of the online news outlet Ravana Lanka News, currently faces charges for spreading false reports and threatening national security for the outlet's reporting on corruption and malfeasance allegations against a Sri Lankan army commander. The new OSA also gives the government greater influence over online content, including the restriction of dissenting views online in the lead-up to the vote.  
• Content removal and blocks on social media platforms: In recent years, authorities have summoned individuals and ordered them to make public apologies for content that they posted online. The new OSA expands the government's ability to remove online content; the act establishes a five-person commission with the power to compel internet service providers to remove content prohibited under the act and hold social media platforms liable for such content on their platforms. Additionally, the government has previously blocked social media and communication platforms during tense political moments, including during the Aragalaya protests in 2022, the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, and communal violence in 2018. The removal of content protected under international human rights standards, as well as the blocking of entire platforms, can prevent access to independent and robust reporting about candidates and electoral issues that is vital for voters to make informed decisions.

Sri Lanka has a score of 59 out of 100, with 100 representing the least vulnerability in terms of election integrity on Freedom House's Election Vulnerability Index, which is based on a selection of key election-related indicators. The score reflects that elections are generally free and fair, though some voters from minority groups face intimidation, while overbroad laws can be abused to punish online expression. Sri Lanka is rated Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2024, with a score of 54 out of 100 with respect to its political rights and civil liberties; and as Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2023, with an internet freedom score of 52 out of 100. To learn more about these annual Freedom House assessments, please visit the Sri Lanka country reports in Freedom in the World and Freedom on the Net.