Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake won Sri Lanka’s presidential election, the Election Commission announced Sunday, after voters rejected the old political guard that has been widely accused of pushing the South Asian nation into economic ruin.
Dissanayake, whose pro-working class and anti-political elite campaigning made him popular among youth, secured victory over opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over the country two years ago after its economy hit bottom and mass protests against the long-entrenched government forced the former president to flee.
Now-former President Wickremesinghe had imposed a night curfew across the country on September 21 shortly after polling closed.
Dissanayake received 5,740,179 votes, followed by Premadasa with 4,530,902, Election Commission data showed.
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