The Marxist-leaning Dissanayake was declared the winner in the tightly-contested Sri Lankan presidential election, which went to a historic second round of voting. He is tasked to bolster a fragile economic recovery following its worst financial crisis in 2022.
Sri Lankans cast their vote to choose their next president on Saturday in the first election since the country's worst-ever economic crisis in 2022. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking re-election for a five-year term as an Independent candidate.
Sri Lanka is going to what many consider a tightly-contested presidential election on Saturday that will determine the future of the fragile economy which was reeling under its worst-ever economic crisis.
There are a total of 38 candidates in the running for the President's post, but President Wickremesinghe faces an uphill battle from Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Namal Rajapaksa and Nuwan Bopage. The cash-strapped country is gearing up for a presidential election on Saturday.
Namal, 38, will compete against President Ranil Wickremesinghe, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and the Marxist JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake on September 21. The son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Namal is currently an MP from the Hambantota district.
Sri Lanka was plunged into an unprecedented economic crisis in 2022 after running out of foreign reserves, leading to large-scale protests and the ouster of ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe brought down inflation and steered the economy to positive growth.
Sri Lanka president election: Wickremesinghe, Dullas Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara Dissanayake were proposed by lawmakers on Tuesday as the three candidates for the presidential election.
In the results declared by 4.30 am on Sunday, Rajapaksa had won postal votes of nine districts with his main challenger Sajith Premadasa winning postal votes of only three districts.
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi Friday congratulated Maithripala Sirisena on his “emphatic and historic victory” in Sri Lanka's presidential election.In a statement, Gandhi extended her greetings to the people of Sri Lanka and applauded
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