New leader's promises will be tricky to keep in hard-up Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's new rulers are quickly realising that campaign promises are easier to make than to keep.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture 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 SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersNew leader's promises will be tricky to keep in crisis-hit Sri LankaGetty ImagesAnura Kumara Dissanayake wants the new year to be a turning point for the countryStunning election wins by a new left-leaning president and his party have changed Sri Lanka's political landscape - but the cash-strapped island's new rulers are quickly realising that campaign promises are easier to make than to keep.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake's remarkable victory in the presidential election in September was swiftly followed by a landslide for his National People's Power (NPP) alliance in parliamentary elections.

As a new year starts, he and his supporters want this to be a turning point for the country, which is trying to recover from devastating economic crisis and years of misrule.

However, they have limited room for manoeuvre to make good on pledges to voters, whose expectations from the new government are high.

Since the financial meltdown of 2022, economic recovery has been fragile and Sri Lanka is far from out of the woods.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevgl3gdnrjo

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