Colombo: Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the National People’s Power (NPP), has been elected as the new president of Sri Lanka, marking a significant moment in the country’s history. For the first time, no candidate received a simple majority of 50 percent of the votes, leading to a decision based on second-preference votes.
This election marks the first held in the country after it faced the most significant economic crisis in its history in 2022, resulting in a victory for the leftist coalition. Dissanayake was leading from the beginning of the election.
Polling for the presidential election took place on Saturday across 13,400 polling stations in 22 electoral districts, with 17 million registered voters. A voter turnout of 75% was recorded. This is the first election in the country following the major economic crisis of 2022.
Competing for power were independent candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe, leftist party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and Namal Rajapaksa, the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. This election has witnessed a fiercely competitive four-way contest for the first time in decades in Sri Lanka.
