Sri Lanka elects Marxist-leaning Dissanayake as president to fix economy

Nation puts religion successful Anura Kumara Dissanayake to combat corruption and bolster a fragile system aft the worst fiscal situation successful decades.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been declared the victor of the presidential election, according to the Election Commission of Sri Lanka.

The Marxist-leaning Dissanayake, 55, person of the People’s Liberation Front alliance, won the presidency with 42.31 percent of the ballot successful Saturday’s election, the committee said connected Sunday.

Opposition person Sajith Premadasa took 2nd spot with 32.76 percent of the vote.

Outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe – who took bureau astatine the highest of the 2022 economical illness and imposed pugnacious austerity policies per the presumption of an IMF bailout – took a distant 3rd spot with 17.27 percent of the votes polled.

Wickremesinghe has yet to concede, but Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said it was wide that Dissanayaka had won.

It was the archetypal clip successful Sri Lanka’s past that the statesmanlike contention was decided by a 2nd circular of counting aft the apical 2 candidates failed to triumph the mandatory 50 percent of votes.

According to predetermination committee officials, the president-elect Dissanayake is expected to beryllium sworn successful connected Monday astatine the colonial-era President Secretariat successful the main metropolis of Colombo.

Reporting from Colombo, Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez said Dissanayake “brings a definite benignant of vitality and charisma” to the presidency.

“Dissanayake was precise decisive and assured successful the pledges helium made carrying the hopes of the radical of the nation. There was a definite magnitude of vigor arsenic helium walked into a room,” she said, referring to his campaign.

“Dissanayake has been successful parliament for 20 years and helium has seen the mode the governmental crippled is played but what helium is claiming is that helium brings to it a caller lease of beingness that nether his enactment volition bring a caller upwind of change,” Fernandez added.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies