By Uditha Jayasinghe, Sudipto Ganguly and Libby George COLOMBO/LONDON (Reuters) -Sri Lanka's new president won the election decisively, but his toughest task still lies ahead as he seeks to balance promises to aid the nation's poor against the need to keep crucial supplies of cash flowing from the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF will discuss Sri Lanka’s loan program review timing with the new govt led by President Dissanayake. The previous administration negotiated a $2.9 billion facility when the presidential election was announced in July.

The International Monetary Fund is ready to discuss its controversial $2.9 billion bailout programme for Sri Lanka with the country's new government, a spokesman said. "We will discuss the timing of the third review of the IMF-supported programme with the new administration as soon as practicable,