COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) 鈥� Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka鈥檚 presidential election, according to data released by the Election Commission Sunday, as voters rejected the old political guard that has been widely accused of pushing the South Asian nation toward economic ruin.
whose pro-working class and anti-political elite campaigning made him popular among youth, secured victory over and incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over the country two years ago after its economy hit bottom.
Dissanayake received 5,740,179 votes, followed by Premadasa with 4,530,902, Election Commission data showed.
The election held Saturday was crucial as the from the worst economic crisis in its history and the .
鈥淭his victory belongs to all of us,鈥� Dissanayake said in a post on X.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP鈥檚 earlier story follows below.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) 鈥� Marxist lawmaker on Sunday claimed he had won Sri Lanka鈥檚 presidential election.
鈥淭his victory belongs to all of us,鈥� Dissanayake said in a post on X.
Official results were expected to be announced, but according to tallies released by the Election Commission, Dissanayake secured 42% of the votes followed by with 32%. Incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over the country two years ago after its economy hit rock bottom, came distant a third and secured 17% of the votes.
working class and against political elite made him popular among youth as the from the worst economic crisis in its history and the .
Neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote.
The Sri Lankan election system allows voters to select three candidates on their ballots in the order of their preference. If no candidate secures a majority, the top two will be retained and the ballots of the eliminated candidates will be checked for preferences given to either of the top two candidates, and those votes will be added to their respective tallies. The candidate with the highest number of votes after that will be declared the winner.
It was a strong showing for Dissanayake, who won just over 3% of votes in a previous presidential election in 2019, and suggests voters are fatigued with the old political guard, which has been accused of pushing Sri Lanka toward economic instability.
Wickremesinghe's Foreign Minister Ali Sabry congratulated Dissanayake on the and said he hopes he will 鈥渓ead with a commitment to transparency, integrity, and the long-term good of the country.鈥�
鈥淚 wish Mr. Dissanayake and his team every success in their efforts to lead Sri Lanka forward,鈥� Sabry added.
The election was a virtual referendum on Wickremesinghe鈥檚 leadership of a fragile recovery, including restructuring Sri Lanka鈥檚 debt under an International Monetary Fund bailout program after it defaulted in 2022.
Dissanayake, 55, leads the left-leaning coalition National People鈥檚 Power, an umbrella of civil society groups, professionals, Buddhist clergy and students.
The government announced Thursday that it passed the final hurdle in in principle with private bond holders.
At the time of its default, Sri Lanka鈥檚 local and foreign debt totaled $83 billion. The government says it has now restructured more than $17 billion.
Despite a significant improvement in key economic figures, Sri Lankans are struggling with high taxes and living costs.
Both Premadasa and Dissanayake say they will renegotiate the IMF deal to make austerity measures more bearable. Wickremesinghe has warned that any move to alter the basics of the agreement could delay the release of a fourth tranche of nearly $3 billion that is crucial to maintaining stability.
Sri Lanka鈥檚 economic crisis resulted largely from excessive borrowing on projects that did not generate revenue. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government鈥檚 insistence on using scarce foreign reserves to prop up the currency, the rupee, contributed to the economy鈥檚 free fall.
The economic collapse brought a , food, cooking gas and fuel, with people spending days waiting in line to obtain them. It led to rioting in which protesters took over key buildings including the president鈥檚 house, his office and the prime minister鈥檚 office, forcing then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.
Wickremesinghe was elected by a parliamentary vote in July 2022 to cover the remainder of Rajapaksa鈥檚 five-year term.
Krishan Francis And Shiekh Saaliq, The Associated Press
