Sri Lankans elected leftist politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake as their new president on Sept. 21. (Photo: AFP)
Left-wing politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s 10th president on Sept. 22, marking the end of the dynastic political culture that dominated the island nation since its independence 75 years ago.
Dissanayake, 55, was elected to power in the Sept. 21 national election as part of the National Peoples’ Power (NPP), an alliance of leftist political parties led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), or Peoples’ Liberation Front.
Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya presided over the oath-taking ceremony in the national capital Colombo.
The Election Commission announced the results on Sept. 22, saying Dissanayake secured 42.31 percent of the votes. The voter turnout was 79.46 percent.
His close rival Sajith Premadasa bagged 32.76 percent votes and independent candidate and former President Ranil Wickremesinghe received 17.2 percent votes.
The Commission said the election was peaceful, and no major violence was reported before, during, or after the polling.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, Dissanayake said he would serve all Sri Lankans and sought cooperation from all to overcome the country’s socio-political and economic challenges.
“I am not a magician. I am a citizen of this country and there are things that I know and things I don’t know. I hope to gather the experience of others and build this country. I expect the support of everyone to overcome the challenges faced by the country,” he said.
“I am aware there are people who are not part of the mandate given to me. I wish to build faith in me among all citizens,” he stressed.
Sri Lanka’s presidential election garnered global attention as it followed the 2022 economic crisis, billed as the worst since the country gained independence from the British in 1948.
The massive crisis triggered a nationwide, unprecedented public uprising, leading to the ouster of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his powerful political family in July 2022.
Gotabaya and his elder brother and former president Mahinda have been accused of mass corruption and plundering of state funds leading to the national bankruptcy.
Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed the interim president after Gotabaya fled the country. He secured a bailout package of US$2.9 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, Wickremesinghe’s government became unpopular for failing to stabilize the economy and increasing taxes, besides soaring inflation and alleged ties with the deposed Rajapaksa regime.
The economic crisis pushed millions into poverty. Between 2021-22, the poverty rate nearly doubled from 13.1 percent to about 25 percent, according to the World Bank.
Dissanayake hails from the once-suppressed JVP that saw about 60,000 leaders and supporters perish in government crackdowns against its armed uprisings in the 1970s and 1980s.
The previous presidents were mostly from two leading parties – the United National Party led by Rajapaksas and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, the Archdiocese of Colombo’s spokesman, said some 1 million Sri Lankan Catholics voted on Sept. 21 to demand justice, rights, and equality.
Sri Lanka has some 1.5 million Catholics, an estimated 30 percent of them children.
The victory for Dissanayake is “a clear message to the rulers that they needed a change in the way they are being governed,” he told UCA News.
“President Dissanayake promised a lot of things to people in his manifesto. This is not an easy task, and he has big challenges ahead of him. Now, his actions and decisions will have to reflect them,” he added.
Besides, he said, the Catholic Church seeks justice for the victims of the 2019 Easter bombings that killed 279 people, mostly Catholics.
The Church demands a fresh probe and punishment for the culprits, he said, adding that other cases of rights violations, injustices, and killings must be properly dealt with.
Under previous regimes, the minorities felt like unequal citizens, which must change now, said Catholic priest Julian Patrick Perera based at St Anthony’s Church in Colombo.
“Religious minorities like Catholics did not feel equal before the eyes of the law due to politicization. We are hopeful that the new government will pave way for a meaningful and inclusive change where everyone feels equal,” the priest said.
Colombo-based editor and political analyst V. Thanabalasingham said the vote tally shows even the majority Sinhala people lost their trust in parties that dominated the country’s politics for decades.
“None of the candidates secured absolute majority, yet the mandate shows people wanted change. The dominant parties have lost their support at the grassroots level. The public uprising in 2022 changed national politics,” he told UCA News.
The rise of JVP is also backed by Sinhala nationalist elements, he said.
He warned that JVP being a leftist party, Dissanayake will find it difficult to make political decisions, unlike previous presidents, as the party follows a “collective decision” system.
Thushan Amarasinghe, 36, said he voted for Dissanayake as he believes he can bring much-needed changes.
The tailor from Colombo said the previous regimes have “stolen money and robbed people” to make the nation “bankrupt.”
“We have lost hope in the system which enables corrupt politicians to thrive,” he told UCA News.
Piyawathani Pushakumari, 43, a homemaker from Dehiwala, Colombo said “an outsider” like Dissanayake was needed to change the system established by the ruling political class.
source : uca news