A left-leaning politician has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the leftist party National People’s Power, beat out his rival in a second round of counting.
No candidate won more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe was eliminated after coming in third place in the first round on Saturday.
The runoff was held between the two frontrunners: Dissanayake and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who heads the SJB, meaning United People’s Power.
The Election Commission said Dissanayake won 5.74 million votes to Premadasa’s 4.53 million.
The key issue was the austerity measures introduced by the incumbent president after the country defaulted in 2022.
Wickremesinghe raised taxes and electricity prices after securing a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. But his moves drew a public backlash.
Dissanayake has said he will renegotiate the IMF deal to ease the burden on ordinary people. It’s thought this pledge won the support of disaffected voters.
The election results could affect a debt restructuring deal led by Japan and other countries.