Sri Lankans will vote on Saturday for their next president, who will be key to deciding the future of reforms in a nation slowly emerging from worst financial crisis in decades.

Below are short profiles of the five key candidates: A lawyer who has served as prime minister a record six times, Wickremesinghe's party holds only one seat in parliament and will need to drum up support from key parties to bolster his chances.

Sri Lankans who usually vote along religious and ethnic lines will be keeping another factor in mind when they vote Saturday on a new president