Who is the new president of Sri Lanka?

Left-wing politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been elected Sri Lanka’s next president after winning the debt-ridden country’s first election since its economic collapse in 2022.

The 55-year-old beat his closest rival, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, to emerge as the overall winner. After a historic second round of counting, which included second-choice votes, incumbent President Ranil Wikremesinghe came in third.

It is a remarkable turnaround for a man who won just 3% of the vote in the 2019 election. Dissanayake, who ran as the candidate of the National People Power (NPP) alliance, has enjoyed growing support in recent years for his anti-corruption platform and pro-poor policies, particularly in the wake of the country’s worst-ever economic crisis, which continues to impact millions.

He will now inherit the governance of a nation struggling to emerge from the shadow of this crisis and a population desperate for change.

So who is President-elect Anura Kumara Dissanayake?

Dissanayake was born on 24 November 1968 in Galewela, a multicultural and multi-religious town in central Sri Lanka.

Raised in the middle class, he was educated in a government school, graduated in physics and first entered politics as a student around the time the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord was signed in 1987: an event that would lead to one of Sri Lanka’s bloodiest periods.

From 1987 to 1989, the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) – a Marxist political party with which Dissanayake would later become closely associated – led an armed revolt against the Sri Lankan government.

The insurgent campaign, sparked by discontent among rural lower- and middle-class youth, precipitated a conflict marked by raids, assassinations and attacks on political opponents and civilians that left thousands dead.

Dissanayake, who was elected to the JVP’s central committee in 1997 and became its leader in 2008, has since apologised for the group’s violence during the so-called “season of terror”.

“A lot of things happened during the armed conflict that shouldn’t have happened,” he said in a 2014 interview with the BBC.

“We are still in shock, shocked that things happened because of us that should not have happened. We are still deeply saddened and shocked by this.”

The JVP, which currently has only three seats in parliament, is part of the NPP coalition now led by Dissanayake.

During his presidential campaign, Dissanayake referred to another violent moment in Sri Lanka’s recent history: the Easter Sunday bombings of 2019.

On April 21, 2019, a series of deadly explosions ripped through churches and international hotels in the capital Colombo, killing at least 290 people and injuring hundreds more in what quickly became the worst attack in Sri Lanka’s history.

Five years later, however, investigations into the circumstances of these coordinated attacks and the security failures that led to them have yielded no answers.

Some have accused the former government, led by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, of obstructing investigations.

In a recent interview with BBC Sinhala, Dissanayake promised that he would investigate the matter if elected – suggesting that the authorities had avoided doing so because they were afraid of revealing “their own responsibility”.

This is just one of many broken promises by Sri Lanka’s political elite, he added.

“It is not just about this investigation,” he said. “Politicians who promised to end corruption have engaged in corruption; those who promised to create a debt-free Sri Lanka have only increased the debt burden; those who promised to strengthen the law have broken it.”

“This is precisely why the citizens of this country want a different leadership. We are the ones who can provide it.”

Dissanayake was seen as a serious contender heading into Saturday’s election, positioning himself as the candidate of change amid simmering national discontent.

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted from Sri Lanka in 2022 by mass protests sparked by the economic crisis.

Years of undertaxation, weak exports and major policy mistakes, combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, have depleted the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Public debt has reached more than $83 billion and inflation has soared to 70%.

Rajapaksa and his government were blamed for the crisis. And although his successor, President Wickremesinghe, introduced economic reforms that lowered inflation and strengthened the Sri Lankan rupee, the population continues to feel the effects of the crisis.

At a deeper level, the 2022 economic crisis and the circumstances surrounding it – including systemic corruption and political impunity – have created a demand for a different kind of political leadership. Dissanayake has been able to capitalize on this demand.

He has presented himself as a potential disruptor of a status quo that his critics say has long rewarded corruption and cronyism within the political elite.

Dissanayake has repeatedly said he plans to dissolve parliament after coming to power, in order to wipe the slate clean and give his policies a fresh mandate – suggesting in a recent interview with BBC Sinhala that he would do so within days of his election.

“There is no point in continuing with a parliament that is out of touch with what the people want,” he said.

Dissanayake’s policy promises include tough anti-corruption measures, stronger social welfare programs and a pledge to cut taxes.

Tax rises and welfare cuts have been imposed by the current government as part of austerity measures aimed at getting the country’s economy back on track – but they have also left many people unable to make ends meet.

Dissanayake’s promise to limit such measures appears to have galvanised voter support in an election where analysts predicted economic concerns would be at the forefront.

“Rising inflation, soaring living costs and poverty have left the electorate desperate for solutions to stabilise prices and improve livelihoods,” Soumya Bhowmick, a research associate at the Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation, told the BBC ahead of the election.

“As the country seeks to emerge from its economic collapse, this election represents a crucial moment to shape Sri Lanka’s recovery trajectory and restore domestic and international confidence in its governance.”

Some observers, including investors and market players, have expressed concern that Dissanayake’s economic policies could impact fiscal targets and disrupt Sri Lanka’s path to recovery.

The presidential candidate, however, has tempered his message in his campaign speeches, insisting on his commitment to ensuring the repayment of Sri Lanka’s debt.

He also noted that any changes would be imposed in consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has provided support to the country’s still-struggling economy.

Many analysts believe that the main task of the next president will be to build a stable economy.

Athulasiri Samarakoon, a lecturer in political science and international studies at the Open University of Sri Lanka, told the BBC that “the most serious challenge is how to restore this economy”, including by managing public spending and increasing government revenue generation.

“Any future government will have to work with the International Monetary Fund,” he noted.

About 76 percent of Sri Lanka’s 17.1 million voters turned out to vote in Saturday’s elections, authorities said.

By mid-morning on Sunday, Dissanayake had already received congratulatory messages from supporters of his two main rivals, outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told X that the initial results clearly indicated a Dissanayake victory.

“Although I campaigned hard for President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the people of Sri Lanka have made their decision and I fully respect their mandate for Anura Kumara Dissanayake,” Sabry said.

MP Harsha de Silva, who supported Premadasa, said he had called Dissanayake to offer his congratulations.

“We campaigned hard for @sajithpremadasa but it didn’t happen. It is now clear that @anuradisanayake will be the new president of #SriLanka,” said de Silva, who represents Colombo in parliament.

Another Premadasa supporter, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson MA Sumanthiran, said Dissanayake had won an “impressive victory” without relying on “racial or religious chauvinism”.

Additional reporting by BBC Sinhala