Who is Chanu Nimesha, Sri Lanka’s first transgender candidate hoping to break barriers?

Sri Lanka is holding its first parliamentary election, called by its leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, to secure a majority in parliament as the island nation struggles to recover from a crushing economic crisis.

Chanu Nimesha is the island country’s first openly transgender candidate who is vying for a seat in the parliament.

She wants to create a political culture on the island nation that is more inclusive and tolerant.

Here’s all we know about her.

About Chanu Nimesha

Nimesha is a candidate for the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka in the Kegalle district, which is located about 80 kilometres east of Colombo.

The 49-year-old is one of roughly 8,000 candidates competing for a position in the 225-seat parliament.

Her campaign focuses on promoting social justice, which she believes has struck chords with voters.

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“I’m not concerned about winning or losing,” she told Reuters, adding, “But it is important for me to be present in this space, to be seen, to inspire others like me. I want to help everyone, not just my community.”

Nimesha describes her candidature as “a historical change.” She was quoted as saying by The Independent, “The first step is always difficult, and it is easy to continue that journey.”

She embraced her identity and pursued a path as an activist. She supports her activism and political campaign by working as a quantity surveyor at a nearby construction site.

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She was one of thousands who protested in Colombo in 2022 to occupy then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office and residence, forcing him to flee the country and later step down during the country’s worst economic crisis.

Born in the southern town of Galle, Nimesha was 14 when her father was killed in a political insurgency in 1989. She eventually moved to Colombo and is no longer in touch with her conservative family.

“I understand their decision to cut ties with me. This is why I’m so passionate about the need for inclusiveness. We need to see the humanity in each other and accept each other. Only then can we build a society where we all belong,” she said

Transgender people are estimated to make up about one per cent of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people, according to Equal Ground, a local civil society group. They frequently face social rejection, lack legal protection and have almost no representation in political parties.

She is also an amateur actor, composes music and has written a book set to be published in the next two months.

Snap election

In light of Sri Lanka’s dire financial situation, new President Dissanayake called for the snap election to increase parliamentary support for his initiatives.

He dissolved the parliament on September 24 and called an early general election, seeking broader support for his reformist agenda as his party held only three seats in the outgoing legislature.

The election is necessary as Dissanayake had just three lawmakers in the outgoing parliament, whose five-year term was due to end in August 2025, and needed a fresh mandate to push his policies.

Nearly 17.1 million Sri Lankans are registered to vote to elect 225 parliamentarians, 196 directly and 29 through a proportional representation system.

Voting begins at 7 am local time (0130 GMT) and ends at 4 pm (1030 GMT), with counting scheduled to start shortly after.

The Election Commission is likely to formally announce the results on Friday.

Following that, a government is anticipated to be formed immediately, and on November 21, the new parliament will meet to choose a speaker.

President Dissanayake will also present a throne speech outlining his key policy priorities to the new parliament on the same day.

Parties contesting

In this election,  President Dissanayake aims to secure a majority in parliament to back his policies in the island nation struggling to recover from a crushing financial crisis.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), the opposition party of Sajith Premadasa, is anticipated to be the primary rival of the NPP, along with the New Democratic Front (NDF), a faction that broke away from the Rajapaksa family’s party and is supported by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

SJB and other parties, such as the United National Party (UNP) and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), are struggling to remain relevant and persuade voters to overlook them for their corrupt past.

Economic crisis

High debt, shortsighted economic policies and tourism revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic plunged Sri Lanka into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022.

Supported by a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund bailout, Sri Lanka has made a tentative recovery but a quarter of the population remains in poverty.

The IMF has stated that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration made significant progress in repairing the nation’s ruined finances after a $46 billion foreign debt default in 2022.

His policies ended the shortages of essentials such as food, fuel and medicines, along with runaway inflation, and returned the country to growth, but left millions struggling to make ends meet.

The IMF is due to send another mission to Colombo on the day of the polls to review progress, after declaring that Sri Lanka was “not out of the woods yet.”

With inputs from agencies