Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president: “I am committed to democracy”
Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who won Sri Lanka ‘s presidential election over the weekend on Sunday, was sworn in as president of the island nation on Monday at a ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
Dissanayake, 55, a candidate for the National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, won the election with 5,740,179 votes, representing more than 42% of the votes cast.
The Marxist leader replaces Ranil Wickremesinghe as president, who came to power in 2022 after the civil unrest that the island experienced due to the severe economic crisis, and which led to the fall of the then head of state Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whom the population blamed for his poor management of the economy.
“Democracy does not end with the election of a leader. It is also necessary to strengthen administrative and legal structures. I am committed to democracy,” Dissanayake said during his first speech as Sri Lankan head of state.
The second-highest-placed candidate in the election was Sajith Premadasa, the opposition candidate of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), who received 32.76% of the vote. Wickremesinghe, who was running for re-election, finished third with 17% of the vote.
Dissanayake is seen as a change of pace in Sri Lankan politics, having come to power with promises to end corruption, lower taxes and renegotiate a nearly $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which led to a series of economic reforms that generated discontent among the population.
His biggest challenge as president will be to stabilise Sri Lanka’s economy, which has been going through a severe economic crisis in recent years.
The new president is also the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which was part of the NPP in the elections.
This is causing fear among some people, as the JVP led two armed revolts against the government in the 1970s and 1980s, in which at least 60,000 people were estimated to have died.
One of Dissanayake’s first tasks will be to appoint an interim government, after Sri Lanka’s current prime minister, Dinesh Gunawardena, announced his resignation moments before the Marxist leader’s inauguration.
Gunawardena was appointed as Prime Minister by Wicremesinghe in 2022.
However, the NPP has only three representatives in the 225-seat Sri Lankan parliament, which will make it extremely difficult for Dissanayake to maneuver until new elections are called.
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