Anura Kumara Dissanayake: Left-leaning leader wins Sri Lanka election

Anura Kumara Dissanayake beat his rivals after a historic second round of vote counting.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionKamala HarrisDonald TrumpJD VanceTim WalzUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersLeft-leaning leader wins Sri Lanka presidential voteEPAAnura Kumara Dissanayake offered voters a break with the established political orderLeft-leaning politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election after a historic second round of counting.

No candidate won more than 50% of the total votes in the first round, where Dissanayake got 42.31% while his closest rival, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, got 32.76%.

But Dissanayake, who promised voters good governance and tough anti-corruption measures, emerged as winner after the second count, which tallied voters' second and third choice candidates.

The election on Saturday was the first to be held since mass protests unseated the country's leader, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in 2022 after Sri Lanka suffered its worst economic crisis.

Dissanayake, 55, told Sri Lankans "this victory belongs to us all", in a message on the social media platform X.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyznjz3d78o

---