Anura Kumar Dissanayake (File photo)
Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and National People’s Power (NPP coalition), was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president on Monday morning, after a decisive victory in the country’s presidential elections.
The election results announced a day earlier, signaled a rejection of the nation’s traditional political elite, widely blamed for driving Sri Lanka into its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from British rule in 1948.
Dissanayake, 56, took the oath of office at the presidential secretariat, administered by chief justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.
He defeated his main rival, Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), in Saturday’s vote. Outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who came into office during the 2022 economic collapse and implemented strict austerity measures under an IMF bailout, finished a distant third with just 17.27% of the vote.
As part of the transition of power, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned shortly before Dissanayake was sworn in. Gunawardena, 75, had served as prime minister since July 2022.
The election results announced a day earlier, signaled a rejection of the nation’s traditional political elite, widely blamed for driving Sri Lanka into its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from British rule in 1948.
Dissanayake, 56, took the oath of office at the presidential secretariat, administered by chief justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.
He defeated his main rival, Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), in Saturday’s vote. Outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who came into office during the 2022 economic collapse and implemented strict austerity measures under an IMF bailout, finished a distant third with just 17.27% of the vote.
As part of the transition of power, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned shortly before Dissanayake was sworn in. Gunawardena, 75, had served as prime minister since July 2022.