Sri Lanka's Marxist-leaning Dissanayake leads presidential race By Reuters
Written by Uditha Jayasinghe and Sudipto Ganguly
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who won from the Marxist party, was leading in Sri Lanka's presidential election with half of the votes counted on Sunday, and it looks like he will give his incumbent the chance to lead the heavily indebted country in reviving the country's economy.
Dissanayake had 40% of the 6 million votes counted, ahead of opposition leader Sajith Premadasa on 33%, as President Ranil Wickremesinghe trailed with 17% of Saturday's votes, according to the Election Commission of Sri Lanka.
Final results are expected later on Sunday. If no candidate achieves 50%, a second round of counting will determine the winner between the top two, using special votes.
This is Sri Lanka's first election since the Indian Ocean country's economy faltered in 2022 under a severe shortage of foreign currency, making it unable to pay for key imports including fuel, medicine and cooking gas. The protests forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign.
“The election result clearly shows that the protest we saw in 2022 is not over,” said Pradeep Peiris, a political scientist at the University of Colombo.
“People voted in accordance with those desires to have different political practices and political institutions. AKD” – as Dissanayake is known – “reflects these desires and people have met him.”
Dissanayake, 55, has presented himself as a candidate for those struggling under measures to impose an estimated $2.9 billion bailout by the International Monetary Fund, promising to dissolve parliament within 45 days of taking office to give a new mandate to his policies in a national election.
He worried investors with a manifesto that promised tax cuts in the island nation, which could affect the IMF's funding targets, and a $25 billion debt restructuring. But during the campaign, he took a conciliatory approach, saying that any changes would be made in consultation with the IMF and that he was willing to guarantee debt repayment.
Premadasa also promised to renegotiate IMF agreements.
BREAKING POVERTY BY MILLIONS
Bolstered by the IMF deal, Sri Lanka's economy has shown signs of recovery – it is expected to grow for the first time in three years and inflation has fallen to 0.5% from 70%.
But the continued high cost of living became a critical issue for many voters, and with millions still living in poverty, many are pinning their hopes for a better future on the next leader.
Voting was peaceful, although police announced an island-wide curfew until noon (0630 GMT) as a precaution while the counting of votes continued.
About 75% of the 17 million eligible voters cast their ballots, according to the commission.
Dissanayake, known for his provocative speeches, ran in the National People's Power Alliance, which includes his party's Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna, which has traditionally supported strong state intervention, low taxes and closed-market economic policies.
Although the JVP has only three seats in parliament, Dissanayake was buoyed by his promises of tough anti-corruption measures and more pro-poor policies. He drew large crowds to rallies, asking the people of Sri Lanka to leave behind the suffering of the crisis.
Premadasa, 57, entered politics after his father, President Ranasinghe Premadasa, was killed in a bomb blast in 1993. The younger Premadasa received 42% of the vote in 2019 to finish second, behind Rajapaksa, in the last presidential election.
Premadasa's leftist party has promised tax reforms to lower the cost of living. Support from farming communities in northern and central Sri Lanka helped him close the gap on Dissanayake as the count continued.
The winner will have to ensure that Sri Lanka complies with the IMF's plan until 2027 so that its economy can develop in a sustainable way, stabilize markets, pay off debts, attract investors and help a quarter of its population out of poverty.
