Marxist Politician Leads Sri Lanka’s Presidential Vote

AFP/APP

Colombo: Cash-strapped Sri Lanka’s main Marxist politician, Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, has taken a comfortable lead in the presidential election, which has turned into a referendum on an unpopular IMF bailout.

Early results from Saturday’s vote suggest that Dissanayaka, 55, could become the first leftist head of state of the strategically located island nation.

As of now, Dissanayaka holds 58 percent of the 250,000 votes counted from over 700,000 postal ballots. Election officials indicate he is also leading in other parts of the country, making his victory almost certain, with a major rival candidate already conceding.

Voter turnout was about 76 percent of the 17.1 million-strong electorate, and final results are expected later today. Rival candidate Namal Rajapaksa’s campaign has acknowledged Dissanayaka’s lead even before the official announcement, with Rajapaksa’s aide stating, “Anura Kumara Dissanayaka has won the election,” while remarking that “Namal Rajapaksa won politics.”

Rajapaksa, a 38-year-old member of the once-powerful Rajapaksa clan, viewed this election as a preparatory step for the 2029 presidential poll, according to sources close to him.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has yet to comment on the election results.

He declared an eight-hour curfew, which police stated was an “additional measure to protect people,” despite the independent Election Commission labeling Saturday’s vote as the most peaceful in the country’s electoral history. The government has also declared Monday a special public holiday.

Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking re-election to continue implementing austerity measures aimed at stabilizing the economy following Sri Lanka’s worst economic meltdown in 2022, which resulted in severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.

His tenure has restored calm after civil unrest forced his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to flee the country. “I’ve taken this country out of bankruptcy,” Wickremesinghe said after casting his ballot.