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.

Two years ago, tens of thousands of Sri Lankans rose up against their president and forced him to flee the country.

Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe did not scrap his re-election campaign days before the bankrupt nation voted in the first poll since its economic collapse, contrary to claims spread online.