Marxist Leader Is Sri Lanka’s New President; Ranil Wickremesinghe Finishes Distant 3rd

Colombo: The signs were clear from the early rounds of vote counting in Sri Lanka’s presidential election.

The results, announced on Sunday evening, confirmed the trends to hand Anura Kumara Dissanayake victory.

Firebrand Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake secured 42.31 per cent of the votes polled, while Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa was not close enough with 32.76 per cent.

Outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was in charge during the country’s dreadful economic collapse in 2022, was a distant third, managing 17.27 per cent of votes.

Dissanayake, the 55-year-old leader of People’s Liberation Front (JVP), a Left-wing coalition, claimed victory even before the entire results were released.

“This victory belongs to all of us,” he stated in a post on X after the Election Commission confirmed his lead earlier in the day.

The triumph of Dissanayake, who is expected to be sworn in at the colonial-era Presidential Secretariat on Monday, marks a major a major turnaround for the JVP, which had received just over 3 per cent of votes in the 2019 presidential election.

Dissanayake is known for his pro-working class stance and sharp criticism of the political elite.

The result is also hugely significant as it signals the people’s rejection of the political establishment which oversaw Sri Lanka’s economic downfall.

Saturday’s election saw a voter turnout of 76 per cent out of the 17 million Sri Lankans eligible to cast their ballots.

Dissanayake has a tough task on hand as Sri Lanka’s economy is still in a precarious state, despite signs of recovery since its default of $83 billion worth foreign debt two years ago.

Wickremesinghe’s government, which assumed power following a nationwide uprising in 2022, was tasked with navigating a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout aimed at stabilising the shattered economy.

“It is a binding document, but there is a provision to renegotiate,” AFP quoted Bimal Ratnayake, a senior member of Dissanayake’s party, as saying. “We will not tear up the IMF deal, but we can renegotiate it to ease the hardships.”

He added that the new administration will seek to reduce taxes on food and medicine, which had been raised under Wickremesinghe’s austerity policies.

Dissanayake’s has tried to reassure India that his administration won’t be caught up in geopolitical rivalry between its northern neighbour and China, Lanka’s largest lender, reported AFP.