Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a once-marginal Marxist politician, is poised to become Sri Lanka’s next president following a closely contested vote driven by widespread public dissatisfaction over the nation’s handling of an unprecedented financial crisis.
Preliminary results from Saturday’s election indicated Dissanayake had secured 52% of the vote with over a million ballots counted, well ahead of his nearest competitor, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who garnered 23.3%. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who assumed office during the height of the 2022 economic collapse, was trailing in third with around 16%.
Wickremesinghe has yet to concede, though Foreign Minister Ali Sabry acknowledged Dissanayake’s apparent victory. “Though I campaigned heavily for President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the people of Sri Lanka have made their decision, and I fully respect their mandate for Anura Kumara Dissanayake,” Sabry wrote on social media.
Voter turnout was robust, with around 76% of the 17.1 million eligible voters casting ballots. An official result is expected later on Sunday.
Dissanayake’s rise marks a remarkable turnaround for the 55-year-old leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Marxist party historically associated with two failed insurgencies in the 1970s and 1980s that resulted in over 80,000 deaths. His party won less than 4% of the vote in the 2020 parliamentary elections. However, Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic turmoil has fuelled a surge in support for Dissanayake, who has vowed to overhaul the island’s “corrupt” political establishment.
“Our country needs a new political culture,” Dissanayake said after casting his ballot on Saturday.
Economic concerns were central to the eight-week campaign, as the country continues to grapple with the aftermath of the 2022 financial meltdown. Wickremesinghe, who sought re-election, implemented austerity measures under a $2.9 billion IMF bailout programme that stabilised the economy and ended crippling shortages of food, fuel, and medicine. However, these policies, including tax hikes, have left many Sri Lankans struggling.
During the campaign, Dissanayake pledged to renegotiate the terms of the IMF rescue package, which Wickremesinghe had secured after the country defaulted on its foreign debt. Official data shows Sri Lanka’s poverty rate doubled to 25% between 2021 and 2022, with over 2.5 million people living on less than $3.65 a day.
Wickremesinghe’s tenure, which brought stability after the civil unrest of 2022, saw thousands of protesters storm the residence of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, forcing him to flee the country and resign. While Wickremesinghe restored calm, the economic hardships endured during his time in office have led to widespread discontent.
Sri Lankan authorities deployed thousands of police officers to maintain order during Saturday’s poll, and a night-time curfew, imposed after polls closed, was extended until midday Sunday. Despite the heightened security, officials reported no instances of violence during or after voting.
No victory rallies or celebrations will be allowed until a week after the official results are confirmed, per government regulations.
