2024-09-24 01:34:26
The leader of the Marxist opposition Anura Kumara Dissanayake was declared the winner of the presidential elections in Sri Lanka – the first since the country was rocked by a financial crisis two years ago, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Dissanayake, head of the National People’s Power coalition, which includes his Marxist-leaning Janata Vimukti Peramuna party, received about 40 percent of the vote of the roughly 17 million eligible voters. The President of Sri Lanka has a five-year term.
He heads the Marxist Janata Vimukti Peramuna party, which had participated in two previous failed uprisings against the then state government – in 1971 and in 1988-1990.
Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the parliamentary opposition, came in second place, and former president Ranil Wickremesinghe came in third, the election commission announced today.
Two years after the severe financial crisis that led to the rescue of the country by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a large part of the population hopes for economic stability. The election is seen as a referendum of sorts on the government’s reform agenda.
Wickremesinghe, who has served as prime minister several times, assumed the presidency two years ago after Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was elected in November 2019, fled the country amid protests over the country’s economic collapse.
A second round of counting was required after none of the nearly 40 candidates achieved the required 50 percent majority of the vote after the first round. Only the first two candidates – Dissanayake and Premadasa – remained for the second round, and the others were removed from the race.
The head of the election commission called the election the most peaceful in the history of the country, according to the “Sri Lankan Daily Mirror”. However, a few hours after the vote, a nationwide curfew was declared to maintain public order.
Premadasa and Dissanayake are seeking to renegotiate the deal with the IMF, which provided a bailout of about $3 billion. The program is associated with strict conditions for economic reforms and unpopular savings.