Left-wing candidate wins Sri Lankan presidential election

September 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Sri Lanka’s Election Commission has declared Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the candidate of the left-wing National People’s Power coalition, the winner of Saturday’s presidential election, making him the country’s ninth president in a setback for Sri Lanka’s traditional political parties.

Dissanayake, who managed to get just 3 percent of the vote in the last election, has secured 42.31 percent of the direct votes and the necessary support in second options to beat his rival, Sajith Premadasa, of the United People’s Power (PPU).

“The dream we have been nurturing for centuries is finally coming true. This achievement is not the result of the work of one person alone, but the collective effort of hundreds of people like you. Your commitment has taken us so far and for that I am deeply grateful. This victory belongs to all of us,” Dissanayake posted on his account on social media X.

The left-wing candidate recalled the “sacrifices of so many who gave their sweat, tears and even their lives for this cause.” “Their sacrifices will not be forgotten. We bear the scepter of their hopes and struggles with the responsibility that this entails,” he added.

Dissanayake announced that “we are ready to rewrite Sri Lanka’s history” with the unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims “and all Sri Lankans” for a “new renaissance”. “Let us join hands and shape this future together!” he appealed.

Dissanayake received the most votes out of the 38 presidential candidates running in these elections and for the first time in history the second choice candidates had to be recounted.

Under Sri Lankan law, if no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first choice, the second choices on the ballot papers are added together to decide which of the two candidates with the most votes is elected president.

Dissanayake, 56, is the leader of National People’s Power, a coalition of leftist political parties and groups backed by protesters who forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign after fleeing the country amid massive protests against the economic crisis.

His campaign has been based on the promise of deep reforms, the fight against corruption and economic improvement, all through a “political revolution” by means of the vote.

Dissanayake belongs to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Marxist party that led two armed rebellions in 1971 and 1987. It subsequently joined the party system and has since been the third traditional political force.