A previously fringe Marxist politician was on course
Sunday to become Sri Lanka's next leader after a presidential vote
coloured by discontent over the island nation's response to an unprecedented
financial crisis.
The ongoing count in Saturday's poll showed Anura Kumara
Dissanayaka on just over 40 percent with about half of all votes counted. Opposition
leader Sajith Premadasa was in second, with 33 percent of the vote. Incumbent
President Ranil Wickremesinghe -- who took office at the peak of the 2022
economic collapse and imposed tough austerity policies per the terms of an
IMF bailout -- was trailing in a distant third with around 17 percent of
the vote. Wickremesinghe has yet to concede, and an official result was not
expected until later Sunday, but foreign minister Ali Sabry said the early
count made it clear that Dissanayaka had won.
"Though I heavily campaigned for President Ranil
Wickremesinghe, the people of Sri Lanka have made their decision, and I
fully respect their mandate for Anura Kumara Dissanayaka," Sabry said
on social media. Economic issues dominated the eight-week campaign, with public
anger widespread over the hardships endured since the peak of the crisis
two years ago.
