September 23 () –
The EU External Action Service congratulated the new President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, on Monday “on his election and inauguration as President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka”.
Brussels has highlighted the high turnout in last Saturday’s presidential elections, as well as an electoral process that took place “peacefully and in an environment of political competition.”
The EU has sent an Election Observation Mission to independently assess the entire electoral process, which in its preliminary report finds that “fundamental freedoms have been respected” and that the Sri Lankan Election Commission has conducted its work independently.
However, the observer mission believes that there is room for improvement in areas such as transparency in the financing of political parties and the participation of women in the country’s public and political life.
“Sri Lanka is an important and valued partner for the EU. Our cooperation on good governance, human rights and the rule of law; our relationship as trade and investment partners and our collaboration to combat climate change and foster the green transition are built on a shared commitment to democratic values,” the EU Foreign Service said.
The EU therefore expresses its willingness to work with Dissanayake “and to continue EU support to Sri Lanka in reforms to enable the country to recover economically, achieve lasting reconciliation and achieve inclusive prosperity.”
Dissanayake, who managed to get just three percent of the vote in the last election, has now obtained 42.31 percent of the direct votes and the necessary support in second options to beat his main rival, Sajith Premadasa, of the United People’s Power (PPU).
The rise to power of Dissanayake’s party – a Marxist party that led two armed rebellions in 1971 and 1987 before being integrated into the party system – has been based on popular demands to fight corruption and break with the island’s traditional party system.
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