Sri Lanka elects Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake as new president

Sri Lanka's election commission said on Sunday (September 22) that Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayakewon the presidential election, and will replace the current president, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

According to the commission's website, 55-year-old is set to be sworn in on Monday.

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This election marks the first following the country's economic crisis in 2022.With no prior political experience, Dissanayake led the polls from the outset, surpassing both incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. He received5.6 million votes, making42.3 per cent, a notable increase from the mere 3 per cent he achieved in the 2019 presidential election.

"The dream we have nurtured for centuries is finally coming true. This achievement is not the result of any single person’s work, but the collective effort of hundreds of thousands of you. Your commitment has brought us this far, and for that, I am deeply grateful. This victory belongs to all of us," Dissanayake wrote on X.

"The millions of eyes filled with hope and expectation push us forward, and together, we stand ready to rewrite Sri Lankan history," he added.

This election was also significant as it was the first in Sri Lanka's history to require a second round of counting, as neither of the leading candidates managed to secure the necessary 50 per cent of the votes to be declared the winner.

(With inputs from agencies)