Sri Lanka swears in left-leaning president

Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has taken his oath of office, promising to “rewrite history” for a country that is recovering from its worst economic crisis

Anura Kumara Dissanayake (above) leads National People’s Power (NPP) alliance, which includes his Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP) party

Nov 1968: Born in Galewela in central Sri Lanka. Enters politics as university student in 1987

2000: Elected to parliament. Serves as minister of agriculture and irrigation (2004-05) and chief opposition whip (2015-18)

2014: Named as leader of JVP – former revolutionary movement led two failed uprisings against Sri Lankan state in 1970s and 80s

2019: Runs for president as candidate of NPP – comes third with 3% of vote

Sep 22, 2024: Wins presidency after second round of counting – first election held since 2022, when discontent over economy forced former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power


SRI LANKA’S PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS (first round) 

Anura Kumara Dissanayake National People’s Power 42.3%

Sajith Premadasa Samagi Jana Balawegaya 32.8%

Ranil Wickremesinghe (incumbent) – independent 17.3%

Turnout: 75%
Sources: BBC, Reuters 
Picture: Facebook
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