Dissanayaka’s once-marginal Marxist party led two failed uprisings in the 1970s and 1980s that left more than 80,000 people dead.
It won less than 4 per cent of the vote during the most recent parliamentary elections in 2020.
But Sri Lanka’s crisis has proven an opportunity for Dissanayaka, 55, who has seen a surge of support based on his pledge to change the island’s “corrupt” political culture.
“Our country needs a new political culture,” he said after casting his ballot on Saturday.
AUSTERITY REJECTED
Wickremesinghe sought re-election to continue belt-tightening measures that stabilised the economy and ended months of food, fuel and medicine shortages during Sri Lanka’s economic meltdown.
His two years in office restored calm to the streets after civil unrest spurred by the downturn saw thousands storm the compound of his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country and resigned.
But Wickremesinghe’s tax hikes and other measures imposed under the US$2.9 billion IMF bailout left millions struggling to make ends meet.
Dissanayaka pledged during the campaign to renegotiate the terms of the IMF rescue package, which Wickremesinghe secured last year after the government defaulted on its foreign debt
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/sri-lanka-election-vote-president-anura-dissanayake-ranil-wickremesinghe-4623511
