Chanu Nimesha is contesting Sri Lanka's parliamentary election on Thursday as the first openly transgender candidate, hoping to forge a more inclusive and tolerant political culture on the South Asian island.

The vote comes less than two months after Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake won September's presidential election. High debt, shortsighted economic policies and tourism revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic plunged Sri Lanka into its worst ...

Sri Lanka’s first openly transgender parliamentary candidate aims to foster a more inclusive political culture. Chanu Nimesha, 49, a member of the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka, is contesting from the Kegalle constituency and is focusing her campaign on social justice issues.