Sri Lanka marks historic shift as leftist coalition secures landslide win

Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake led the National People’s Power coalition to a landslide victory on Friday as Sri Lanka concluded snap parliamentary elections. The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (also known as United People’s Power Party) led by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa was a distant second with 40 seats and just 17.6% of the voteshare.
Dissanayake had gained prominence after distancing himself from successive leaders blamed for steering the country to its 2022 economic crisis. The country is still trying to recover from its worst financial crash in history — even as a barrage of austerity measures including tax hikes fuelling resentment. 
The outpouring of public anger had eventually culminated in the storming of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s compound, prompting his resignation and temporary exile. The country had declared bankruptcy after defaulting on its external debt in 2022.
The Leftist leader has pledged to change a “corrupt” political culture — a message that resonated with millions of Sri Lankans struggling to make ends meet in recent years.
 
 
(With inputs from agencies)