Left-wing politician Anura Kumar Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election. He achieved this victory by creating history after the second round count on Sunday evening.
Because, this was the first time in the history of Sri Lanka that the election was counted in the second round.
Earlier, no candidate secured more than 50 percent of the total votes in the first round of counting in the afternoon. Dissanayake received 42.31 percent votes in this round. While his nearest rival, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa got 32.76 percent votes.
On the other hand, the current president Ranil Wickremesinghe got only 17 percent of the votes. As a result, he was in the third position. And because of this, he had no chance to participate in the second round.
But Dissanayake, who promised voters good governance and tough anti-corruption measures, emerged victorious in the second round. Votes for voters’ second and third choice candidates are also counted in this round.
With no winner determined in the first round of counting on Sunday, the election is being considered one of the most contested in Sri Lanka’s history.
Earlier, elections were held in the country on Saturday. It was the first presidential election since the fall of the country’s leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the face of mass protests in 2022.
For economic revival, the 55-year-old Dissanayake has promised to work to develop the country’s manufacturing, agriculture and IT sectors. He also pledged to continue the economic crisis relief agreement with the IMF. At the same time, he also assured to reduce its austerity effect on the poor people of the country.
1.7 million voters voted in Saturday’s election and the Election Commission said it was the most peaceful election in the country’s history.
However, during the night, the police announced a curfew citing ‘public safety’, which was lifted around noon on Sunday.
Anura Kumar Dissanayake promised the people of his country tough anti-corruption measures and good governance, which resonated deeply with the economically challenged Sri Lankan people. Through this he was able to overcome public fears of his Marxist political party Janata Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) and his violent past. The JVP led two armed insurgencies against Sri Lanka in the 70s and 80s.
The JVP is now part of the country’s left-wing coalition, the National People’s Power (NPP). The party gained massive popularity through the 2022 mass protests known as Aragalaya. In recent years he has tried to moderate his party’s hard-left stance.
Meanwhile, the preliminary results of Sunday’s polls show that he is fast becoming the leader. As a result, many high-level personalities including the foreign minister of the country have already congratulated him. But he lost some votes as polling continued, necessitating a second round of counting. Source: BBC
