A once fringe politician with Marxist views is on the brink of ascending to the presidency of Sri Lanka, following a recent election characterized by widespread discontent over the island’s handling of a severe financial crisis.
Preliminary results from yesterday’s election reveal that Anura Kumara Dissanayaka has garnered just over 42% of the votes, with approximately 75% of the total counted so far.
Dissanayaka boasts a commanding lead of nearly 1.3 million votes over his closest rival, Sajith Premadasa, who has managed only about 33% of the total.
In stark contrast, the current President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office during the tumultuous peak of Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic crisis and subsequently enacted stringent austerity measures in line with an IMF bailout, finds himself a distant third with about 17% of the vote.
Around 76% of the 17.1 million eligible voters in Sri Lanka participated in yesterday’s election, marking a robust turnout.
“While I vigorously campaigned for President Ranil Wickremesinghe, I respect the will of the people, who have chosen Anura Kumara Dissanayaka,” expressed Mr. Sabry on his social media platform.
The eight-week campaign was dominated by economic concerns, with public frustration palpable over the hardships faced since the crisis reached its zenith two years prior.
Dissanayaka and his People’s Liberation Front party have made it clear they intend to “not rip up” the existing IMF agreement, one that Wickremesinghe negotiated last year following the government’s default on foreign debts. However, they seek to revise certain terms, according to comments from a member of the party’s politburo.
“It’s a binding agreement, yet there’s room for renegotiation,” asserted Bimal Ratnayake.
He added that Dissanayaka has committed to lowering the income tax rates, which doubled under Wickremesinghe, and cutting sales taxes on essential items such as food and medications.
“We believe it’s feasible to implement those cuts while ensuring the four-year bailout program continues,” he stated.
Once marginalized, Dissanayaka’s Marxist party has a turbulent history, having led two failed insurrections in the 1970s and 80s that resulted in the loss of over 80,000 lives.
In the last parliamentary elections in 2020, the party managed to capture less than 4% of the vote. Yet, the ongoing crisis has opened new doors for Dissanayaka, now 55, as public support swells in response to his vow to overhaul the “corrupt” political system on the island.
A nighttime curfew initiated after the polls closed has been extended until midday the following day.
<p“Our nation is in dire need of a fresh political ethos,” he declared shortly after voting.
Around 76% of eligible voters made their voices heard in this election, a significant turnout given the current climate. Wickremesinghe aimed for re-election to maintain the austerity measures that stabilized the economy, alleviating months of shortages in food, fuel, and medications that arose during the economic collapse.
His two-year tenure helped to restore a modicum of order to the nation, whose streets erupted in civil unrest when angry citizens stormed the residence of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, forcing him to flee and ultimately resign.
Despite the semblance of stability, Wickremesinghe’s tax increases and other fiscal policies mandated under the ambitious $2.9 billion IMF bailout have left countless citizens struggling to make ends meet.
According to government data, the poverty rate in Sri Lanka surged to 25% between 2021 and 2022, representing over 2.5 million additional individuals subsisting on less than $3.65 a day.
On the day of voting, a heavy police presence was mobilized, and the government prohibited the sale of alcohol to prevent any potential disturbances.
Even though authorities reported no violence during or following the elections, the curfew put in place post-balloting was extended until midday, and celebrations or victory rallies have been banned until a week after the announcement of final results.
