Cash-strapped Sri Lanka began voting for its next president on Saturday, effectively turning the election into a referendum on the International Monetary Fund's unpopular austerity plan implemented following the country’s severe financial crisis.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe charted a path for Sri Lanka out of its worst financial crisis in decades, but the austerity measures that were key to this recovery may hinder his bid to return to his job in Saturday's presidential election.