Dissanayake is the first president not to hail from Sri Lanka’s traditional ruling elite. 79% of 17 million eligible voters went to the polls, and yet, extraordinarily, no winner emerged after the first round of counting. Outsider Dissanayake won 42% of the vote whilst opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, received 33%. Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe, appointed after Rajapaksa fled, was eliminated. After the second round, Dissanayake was declared the victor. His election represents a rejection of the establishment and reflects nationwide anger at the corruption and political failures being blamed for the economic disaster.
Dissanayake, leader of the left-wing National People’s Party alliance, which includes the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), inherits a fragile economy, stabilised somewhat by an IMF lifeline accompanied by tough austerity measures. He must balance these against his ambitions to tackle poverty, cut taxes, promote growth, and unite a population scarred by civil war.
Dissanayake is the first president not to hail from Sri Lanka’s traditional ruling elite.
The 2022 uprising, the Aragalaya, started after the country’s foreign currency reserves were depleted and it defaulted on its debt. Rajapaksa and his older brother, then-PM and ex-president Mahinda, had collectively ruled Sri Lanka for a decade. Weak exports and Covid put the economy at risk - catastrophic errors by the Rajapaksas like slashing taxes and banning chemical fertiliser imports strangled the import of essentials and wrecked the agricultural sector. Inflation hit 70% rendering food, cooking gas and medicine unaffordable. Power cuts drove people out onto the streets and after months of protests against their corrupt rule, the Rajapaksas fled.
September’s election nevertheless featured Mahinda’s son as a candidate. People associated Wickremesinghe with the Rajapaksas and Premadasa, viewing him as an elite, whilst he failed to capitalise on public anger. Dissanayake, for years a pro-poor outsider, became a frontrunner despite the JVP’s bloody past. The Marxist group infamously attempted two insurrections – their 1987-1989 campaign saw tens of thousands killed. Dissanayake, JVP leader since 2008, has apologised for the violence.
Dissanayake appointed Harini Amarasuriya as PM, the third woman to hold the office. November’s general election will affect how he might achieve his myriad ambitions. Sri Lanka’s people have high expectations for Dissanayake and they have proven capable of acting when politicians fail to deliver. November’s general election will determine how he might achieve his myriad ambitions.
