Anura Disanayake, the leader of the leftist opposition party JVP, was elected as the next president in the Sri Lankan presidential election, which was held for the first time in over 2 years due to the country’s bankruptcy. The anger towards the outdated political forces blamed for severe poverty and economic instability, caused by the country’s economic crisis, high taxes, and cost of living, is seen as a reflection of the people’s frustration. According to AFP and other sources on the 22nd, the Sri Lankan Election Commission announced the election results on that day, in which Anura Disanayake, the leader of the leftist party coalition JVP, surpassed the incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the leader of the main opposition party, Sajith Premadasa of the SJB, to win the presidential election. The newly elected Disanayake promised anti-corruption measures and policies friendly to the poor, gaining popularity by declaring that he would become Sri Lanka’s first Marxist-leaning president. Although Disanayake won the first round of voting with 39.5% of the votes, he had to proceed to a second round as he did not secure a majority. In the final tally, he won with 42.31% of the votes. This was the first time in Sri Lankan election history that a runoff was held due to a lack of a majority candidate. In the Sri Lankan election system, voters can rank up to 3 candidates on the ballot paper. If no candidate receives over 50% of the votes, the Election Commission eliminates the candidates except for the top 1 and 2 contenders. The election, held for the first time in over 2 years since the country’s bankruptcy in 2022, had a total of 38 candidates running.
Disanayake, the president-elect, will be inaugurated on the morning of the 23rd and lead Sri Lanka for the next 5 years. His top priority as the new president will be to stabilize the economy and put it on a path of sustainable growth. Since declaring bankruptcy with debts of over $83 billion in April 2022, Sri Lanka must address the humanitarian crisis and renegotiate the conditions of IMF bailout funds. In the past, due to a shortage of foreign exchange in 2022, thousands of protesters marched in Colombo demanding fuel, medicine, and cooking gas but were unable to pay the import costs. The protesters even occupied the President’s office and residence, prompting the then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign. Wickremesinghe, who took over after him, secured a $2.9 billion IMF financial support package last year and proceeded with debt restructuring efforts. Implementing austerity measures such as tax increases and discontinuing energy subsidies as demanded by the IMF, the economy is showing signs of initial recovery with an estimated growth rate of 3% this year.
Furthermore, efforts should be made to investigate allegations of corruption during the previous government’s tenure. Disanayake gained public support by promising to tackle corruption during anti-government protests in 2022.
The president-elect, Disanayake, who was born to a laborer father and a housewife mother, hails from a humble background. He joined the JVP in 1987 after entering university. At that time, the JVP had led an armed revolution in the 1970s and 1980s, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths before abandoning the armed struggle. In the recent general elections, the party suffered a crisis by receiving less than 4% of the votes. Since being elected to parliament in 2000, Disanayake has maintained his status as a member of parliament and even served as Minister of Agriculture for a year in 2004.