Sri Lanka's new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been
sworn into office, promising "clean" politics as the country recovers
from its worst economic crisis.
The left-leaning Dissanayake has cast himself as a disruptor
of the status quo, and analysts see his victory as a rejection of corruption
and cronyism that has long plagued the country.
Saturday's election was the first since 2022, when
discontent over the economy fuelled mass protests and chased former president
Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power.
"We need to establish a new clean political
culture," he said. "I commit to achieving this. We will do the utmost
to win back the people’s respect and trust in the political system."
The 55-year-old, who is familiarly known as AKD, told Sri
Lankans that "democracy doesn’t end with voting in a leader".
"We need to strengthen democracy. I pledge to do my
utmost to safeguard democracy," he said.
"I have said before that I am not a magician – I am an
ordinary citizen. There are things I know and don’t know. My aim is to gather
those with the knowledge and skills to help lift this country."
Dissanayake received a Buddhist blessing at the end of his
speech. Representatives of Sri Lanka's other main religions - Islam, Hinduism
and Christianity - were also present during the oath-taking, highlighting the
new president's emphasis on diversity.
In a statement on the eve of the ceremony, Dissanayake said
the "unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all Sri Lankans is the
bedrock of this new beginning".
During the campaign, Dissanayake promised voters good
governance and tough anti-corruption measures.
He has promised to develop Sri Lanka's manufacturing,
agriculture and IT sectors. He has also committed to continuing the deal struck
with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail Sri Lanka out of the
economic crisis while reducing the impact of its austerity measures on the
country’s poorest.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned before
Dissanayake was sworn in, paving the way for the dissolution of parliament.
In an earlier interview with BBC Sinhala, Dissanayake
signalled that he would dissolve parliament soon after being elected.
"There is no point continuing with a parliament that is
not in line with what the people want," he said at the time.
Dissanayake won after the counting stretched into a second
round on Sunday, as no candidate was able to win more than 50% of the total
votes in the first round.
Once the second and third-choice votes for president had
been tallied, the Election Commission said Dissanayake had won with a total of
5,740,179 votes.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa came in second at
4,530,902. Outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe got 2,299,767 during the
first round of counting and was excluded from the second round.
