The 55-year-old candidate won 42.3% of the vote in the September 21 election, a big turnaround for someone who won just 3% of the vote in the 2019 presidential election.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa won 32.8% of the vote. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe came third with 17% of the vote.
After his election, many questions were raised about Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake as well as the future of the country under his leadership.
Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake speaks before the election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, September 18. Photo: AP
Political Beginnings
Born on November 24, 1968, Mr. Dissanayake, commonly known by his initials AKD, is the son of a laborer with a degree in physics.
He became involved in left-wing politics as a student, around the time of the signing of the 1987 India-Sri Lanka Agreement. The agreement was part of the Sri Lankan government's plan to end the civil war by transferring political power to the minority Tamils based on a deal brokered by neighboring India, which would send a peacekeeping force.
However, this agreement failed to achieve its goals and led to a bloody rebellion in Sri Lanka, led by the Marxist political party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) or People's Liberation Front.
At the time, Mr Dissanayake, a member of the majority Sinhalese community, was an active student leader of the JVP. The rebellion was put down in about two years.
Mr Dissanayake said he was protected by a teacher for more than a month from the killings of JVP activists.
A large number of people went missing, and unofficial estimates put the death toll in the JVP's armed struggle at around 60,000. Some are still unaccounted for.
Marxist and admirer of communist leaders
Mr Dissanayake rose through the ranks of the JVP over the years.
In his CV, he took over as party leader in 2014 and soon after publicly declared that the party would "never" take up arms again.
His party's Marxist roots are evident in his office in the capital, with portraits of prominent communist leaders such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Friedrich Engels and Fidel Castro. Outside, a red hammer and sickle flag flies from a flagpole.
Married with two children, Mr Dissanayake spent most of his political career outside mainstream society.
According to The Hindu news portal, he has formed the National People Power coalition, with more than two dozen small political groups, experts, academics and activists.
The event marked the beginning of a third force, outside Sri Lanka's two traditional political factions, The Hindu reported.
In 2019, he ran for president and came in third with only 3% of the vote.
Candidates for change
Mr Dissanayake ran as the candidate of the National People's Power coalition, which included his Marxist JVP party.
Although the JVP only has three seats in parliament, Mr Dissanayake's promises of tough anti-corruption measures and more pro-poor policies have helped him gain support.
"For the first time in Sri Lanka's post-independence history, political power will shift from a few corrupt elite families to the people's government," he wrote in his party's election manifesto.
He also presented himself as a candidate for change for those suffering from austerity measures linked to the International Monetary Fund's $2.9 billion bailout.
Open economy
Since coming to power, Mr Dissanayake has eased some of his policies, saying he believes in an open economy and is not entirely opposed to privatisation.
His manifesto pledged to improve loss-making state-owned enterprises without selling them.
Mr Dissanayake and his party have mended relations with India since 1987. He is also seen as having close ties with China.
This year, Mr Dissanayake visited New Delhi for meetings with top Indian politicians, shortly after a similar visit to Beijing. “Sri Lankan territory will not be used against any other country,” he said.
The September 21 election was the first since mass protests over the economy ousted former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022.
It was the worst financial crisis in Sri Lanka's history since the country gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.
Aided by the IMF deal, Sri Lanka’s economy has recovered cautiously, with growth expected this year for the first time in three years. Inflation has fallen to 0.5% from a crisis peak of 70%.
However, the persistently high cost of living is a key issue for many voters as millions of people still live in poverty.
Mr Dissanayake has promised to dissolve parliament within 45 days of taking office to give his policies a fresh mandate in a general election.
He will have to ensure Sri Lanka sticks to an IMF program until 2027 to put its economy on a path of steady growth, reassure markets, pay off debt, attract investors and lift a quarter of its people out of poverty.
Ngoc Anh (according to CNA)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tong-thong-dac-cu-sri-lanka-nguoi-theo-chu-nghia-marx-va-khat-vong-dua-dat-nuoc-thoat-khoi-khung-hoang-post313516.html
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