At the height of Sri Lanka's economic crisis in 2022, after months at a protest camp calling for the resignation of the country's president, Nixon Chandrenthan finally had a good night's sleep.

The bed he slept in was in the presidential palace.

"We enjoyed that really well, because we were so tired," he told the ABC.

Mr Chandrenthan was one of thousands of protesters who entered the residence in July, 2022 after the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled, succumbing to protests calling for his removal over his role in causing, then handling, the worst economic crisis in Sri Lanka's history.

For days they swam, slept and ate in the presidential palace, temporarily enjoying a life far away from the reality Sri Lankans had faced for months.

Many had been forced to queue for hours in the heat for essentials like fuel and cooking gas.

They were in short supply because the government couldn't afford to import basic supplies, thanks to huge debts from staggering foreign loans and tax cuts.

Critical medicines were hard to come by and power frequently went out. At one point inflation soared to 70 per cent.

"We [were] suffering, but our leaders and our president were living a luxury life," said Mr Chandrenthan, who now drives a tuktuk after his pizza business became unsustainable during the crisis.

Today, Sri Lankans will have their say on leadership at the first presidential election since the crisis.

Incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was installed days after Mr Rajapaksa eventually resigned, is hoping to win an election in his own right for the first time.

His pitch to voters is his role in getting the economy back on track under a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Since his appointment as president, the queues have disappeared, and inflation has dropped to 0.5 per cent.

Nixon Chandrenthan will be voting for Mr Wickremesinghe.

"He's got good knowledge, he has a good brain," Mr Chandrenthan said.

"Within two-and-a-half years, he's rebuilt this country."

Victory for the president is not guaranteed.

For the first time in Sri Lanka, there are three frontrunners in a presidential election.

Alongside the president and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, a third candidate has emerged: Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of a leftist alliance.

"This is the first time that it's a three-cornered fight," Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu from the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo said.

"What it suggests, therefore, is just that the political establishment has dissolved."

Though the economic recovery is underway, many people feel they and their families are still suffering.

'I need change'

At the peak of the crisis in 2022, Rani Chandra's husband went out to queue to buy fuel for his rickshaw.

After lining up in the hot sun, he collapsed and later died.

"Today, I have no one," Ms Chandra said.

"I am alone. He brought me food and drink and did everything, he did it all.

"I am at a loss about the loss of my husband."

Ms Chandra is a diabetic.

She said her medicine has doubled in price since the economic crisis, which will be at the front of her mind when she votes on Saturday.

"We need to bring down the price of goods. The price of medicine needs to decrease," she said.

Colombo resident Suhana Peiris has also not decided who she will vote for.

But she's sure of one thing.

"I need change," she told the ABC.

She said increased taxes brought in as part of the IMF deal have made providing for her family of five difficult.

She thinks the burden of helping the economy recover should be put on those who can afford to help.

"The rich people have to pay the taxes," she said.

"We had a problem, and [Ranil Wickremesinghe] had a solution, but sometimes that solution is very harmful for people.

"That's why I need a change from this government."

Sri Lanka's 'social contract in pieces'

For many Sri Lankans, this election is about more than the economy: it's about leaving the political establishment in the past.

Many see Mr Wickremesinghe as tainted by his entanglement with the Rajapaksa family, who have been accused of corruption.

"This election is all about this notion of system change," Dr Saravanamuttu said.

"The social contract of the country is in pieces, and we therefore have to redesign a new social contract."

Mr Dissanayake, whose Marxist party played a major role in the 2022 protest movement, is hoping to capitalise on that distrust.

He has promised to root out corruption, and, like Mr Premadasa, has vowed to renegotiate the IMF deal to try and get better relief for Sri Lankans.

Supporters at his last campaign rally on Wednesday night told the ABC they think he's the only one that can continue the country's emergence from turmoil.

"All this time, for 76 years, all these politicians have ruined this country," one man said.

"We have gone down the drain. So, step by step we have to come up.

"I think this will work out and this country will have a good future under this team."

Many have accused both Mr Dissanayake and Mr Premadasa of not having a plan for economic recovery, claiming they've not provided details on how they would renegotiate the IMF deal.

"All three have said that they would accept the IMF agreement as the framework, but within that framework that they will make adjustments like taxation," Dr Saravanamuttu said.

"What they say is a plan lacks coherence."

But Dr Saravanamuttu said that is not necessarily a good enough reason for voters to stick with the incumbent president.