Sri Lanka’s president said reopening talks with the International Monetary Fund over a bailout program would represent the biggest threat to the island nation’s economy, hitting back at his opponents who have pledged fresh dialogue with the lender.

Sri Lanka will hold a presidential election on Saturday for the first time since its strongman president fled the country two years ago in the face of protests over an economic collapse. During the 2022 crisis,

Sri Lanka’s 17 million voters head to the polls Saturday to elect a president two years after an economic meltdown and a historic debt default caused widespread political unrest and the ousting of the former strongman leader.