Two years ago, tens of thousands of Sri Lankans rose up against their president and forced him to flee the country. As the country prepares for its first election since then, many say they’re still waiting for change.

Sajith Premadasa, the leader of Sri Lanka's main opposition party, is a frontrunner in Saturday's presidential election and a win will hand him the top job more than 30 years after his father was assassinated while holding the same post.

Scarred by a decades-long civil war and struggling to survive in Sri Lanka's crippled economy, ethnic minority Tamils in the island nation say they have little hope that Saturday's presidential election will improve their lot by much.