Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election, securing 42.31 per cent of the vote, according to official results announced Sunday.
The 55-year-old leader of the People’s Liberation Front (JVP), a left-wing coalition, claimed victory on Sunday, even before the full results were officially released. “This victory belongs to all of us,” he said in a post on X, as the Election Commission confirmed his lead.
Dissanayake is expected to be sworn in Monday at Colombo’s colonial-era Presidential Secretariat. His rise to power signals a rejection of the political establishment blamed for the country’s economic downfall. The victory also represents a major turnaround for the JVP, which had received just over 3 per cent of the vote in the 2019 presidential election.
The election, held on Saturday, saw a voter turnout of 76 per cent, with 17 million Sri Lankans eligible to cast their ballots.
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