Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won the presidential election, defeating incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday (September 22, 2024).
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Leftist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake emerged victorious in Sri Lanka’s presidential race on Sunday (September 22, 2024), obtaining a mandate that signals a clean break from the island nation’s political establishment and ushers in unprecedented change.
Mr. Dissanayake was officially declared President-elect by the Election Commission of Sri Lanka after it completed a second count of votes, an exercise undertaken for the first time in the country’s election history.
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The tally of preferential votes cast by voters became necessary since neither Mr. Dissanayake, nor his chief challenger Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, secured the 50% plus one vote in the first round, which is required for winning.
“The dream we have nurtured for centuries is finally coming true,” Mr. Dissanayake said in a statement shortly after the announcement.
“This victory belongs to all of us,” he added. “Millions of eyes filled with hope and expectation push us forward, and together, we stand ready to rewrite Sri Lankan history.”
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Mr. Wickremesingh congratulated Mr. Dissanayake on the win and said he was “confident” the politician would “steer Sri Lanka on a path of continued growth and stability”. In a statement, he said, “History will judge my efforts, but I can confidently say that I did my best to stabilise the country during one of its darkest periods.”
Around 76% of Sri Lanka’s 17.1 million eligible voters cast ballots in Saturday’s (September 21, 2024) poll. Mr. Dissanayake and his People’s Liberation Front had vowed to not scrap the country’s unpopular $2.9 billion IMF bailout agreement, but instead renegotiate it.
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PLF politburo member Bimal Ratnayake had said, “Our plan is to engage with the IMF and introduce certain amendments.”
University of Jaffna academic Mahendran Thiruvarangan described the poll outcome as “positive” one. “The NPP is a political formation that represents some of the core demands of the Aragayala [people’s struggle of 2022]. Their victory is reason for optimism,” he told The Hindu.
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