Sri Lanka Elects Marxist Leader as President

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s tenth president on Monday, marking a historic shift in the country’s political landscape. The election saw voters decisively reject the old guard, blamed for leading the nation into an unprecedented economic crisis.

Dissanayake, 55, secured victory as the head of the Marxist-leaning National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, defeating opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and 36 other candidates in Saturday’s election. He garnered a substantial 5,740,179 votes, while Premadasa received 4,530,902.

The election held immense significance as Sri Lanka grapples with its worst economic crisis and the resulting political upheaval. Dissanayake’s ascension to the presidency marks a departure from the country’s traditional political power structures.

Dissanayake’s NPP coalition is spearheaded by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), or People’s Liberation Front, a Marxist party with a history rooted in armed insurrections in the 1970s and 1980s. Despite two failed attempts to seize power through socialist revolution, the JVP transitioned to democratic politics in 1994. Though primarily an opposition force, it has occasionally supported previous presidents and participated in government formations.

The NPP coalition encompasses a diverse range of constituents, including academics, civil society movements, artists, lawyers, and students.

Dissanayake’s political journey began with his election to Parliament in 2000. He briefly served as the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation under then-President Chandrika Kumaratunga. His first presidential bid in 2019 saw him lose to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was ousted two years later amid the deepening economic crisis.

The economic crisis, rooted in excessive borrowing to finance unproductive projects, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s misguided efforts to prop up the rupee using dwindling foreign reserves, has left Sri Lanka facing an unprecedented economic hardship.