Sri Lanka rejects old guard to elect Marxist president

Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka's presidential election, according to early results, as voters rejected the old political guard that has been widely accused of pushing the country into economic ruin.

- ARPAN RAI TARA COBHAM

Mr Dissanayake secured victory over opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and incumbent liberal president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over the country two years ago after its economy hit rock bottom. Mr Dissanayake received 5,740,179 votes, followed by Mr Premadasa with 4,530,902, Election Commission data showed.

“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,” Mr Dissanayake said in a post on X/Twitter.

Mr Dissanayake leads National People’s Power, a left-wing coalition of civil society groups, professionals, students and Buddhist clergy. The election, held on Saturday, came amid the worst economic crisis in the country’s history and the resulting political upheaval. Contested by 38 candidates, it was largely a three-way race between Mr Dissanayake, Mr Wickremesinghe and Mr Premadasa.