Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka to become Sri Lanka's next president

A previously marginal Marxist politician was on track to become Sri Lanka's next president on Sunday after a presidential election marked by discontent over the island nation's response to an unprecedented financial crisis.

The first count of the polls on Saturday showed Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, the 55-year-old leader of the People's Liberation Front, at just over 42 percent.

His lead of almost 1.3 million votes seemed unassailable over second-place opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who was 33 percent behind.

Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe – who took office at the height of the economic collapse in 2022 and implemented harsh austerity policies under the terms of an IMF bailout package – came in a distant third with around 17 percent.

Sri Lanka has a preferential voting system. Before the winner is officially declared, the second candidates marked on the ballot papers are counted.

Wickremesinghe has not yet admitted defeat, but Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said it seemed clear that Dissanayaka had won.

“Although I campaigned intensively for President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the people of Sri Lanka have made their decision and I fully respect their mandate for Anura Kumara Dissanayaka,” Sabry said on social media.

Vijitha Herath, a lawmaker from Dissanayaka's party, said they were confident of victory but urged his supporters to be patient as the counting process dragged on.

“The Election Commission needs to complete the process of counting the preferential votes and this is delaying the final result,” he said in a video message posted on the party's social media accounts.

– IMF agreement –

Economic issues were at the forefront of the eight-week election campaign, and there was widespread anger among the population at the hardships that people had endured since the crisis peaked two years ago.

Dissanayaka will “not cancel” the IMF deal but will try to change it, a member of the party's politburo told AFP.

“It is a binding document, but there is a clause for renegotiation,” said Bimal Ratnayake.

He said Dissanayaka had promised to reduce the income tax doubled by Wickremesinghe and to drastically cut sales tax on food and medicine.

“We believe we can incorporate these cuts into the program and continue the four-year rescue program,” he said.

Dissanayaka's once marginal Marxist party led two failed uprisings in the 1970s and 1980s in which over 80,000 people died.

In the most recent parliamentary elections in 2020, it received less than four percent of the vote.

But for Dissanayaka, the crisis in Sri Lanka has also turned out to be an opportunity. His promise to change the island's “corrupt” political culture has brought him great support.

“Our country needs a new political culture,” he said after voting on Saturday.

Around 76 percent of Sri Lanka's 17.1 million eligible voters cast their votes in Saturday's election.

Dissanayaka's party sought to reassure India that a government led by him would not be drawn into the geopolitical rivalry between its northern neighbour and China, the country's biggest creditor.

New Delhi has expressed concern about what it sees as Beijing's growing influence in Sri Lanka, which lies on key shipping routes crisscrossing the Indian Ocean.

“Sri Lankan territory will not be used against any other country,” Ratnayake told AFP.

“We are fully aware of the geopolitical situation in our region, but we will not participate.”

– Austerity rejected –

Wickremesinghe sought re-election to continue the austerity measures that stabilized the economy and ended months of shortages of food, fuel and medicine during Sri Lanka's economic collapse.

During his two-year term in office, calm returned to the streets after social unrest caused by the economic crisis and thousands stormed the government headquarters of his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who then left the country.

But Wickremesinghe's tax hikes and other measures imposed as part of the $2.9 billion IMF bailout he pushed through last year have left millions of people struggling to make ends meet.

According to official data, the poverty rate in Sri Lanka doubled to 25 percent between 2021 and 2022, adding another 2.5 million people to those already living on less than $3.65 a day.

Thousands of police officers were deployed to monitor the election on Saturday.

Although police said there were no outbreaks of violence during or after the vote, a temporary curfew was imposed after polling stations closed.

No victory celebrations or victory parties are permitted until one week after the final result is announced.

(This article has not been edited by News18's editorial team and is taken from the feed of a syndicated news agency – AFP.)