Marxist Lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake Wins Sri Lankan Presidential Election in Midst of Economic Crisis

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Marxist lawmaker, defeated his opposition to win the Sri Lankan presidential election (Wikimedia Commons).

In a rally against current leadership, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Sri Lankan Marxist lawmaker, was declared the winner of the country’s presidential elections on September 22, as reported by AP News. Dissanayake, who ran previously in 2019, secured 5.7 million votes. The final vote was between President Dissanayake and liberal opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. This vote came after two rounds of polling, the first of which eliminated incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Per BBC, this outright rejection of the incumbency spoke to Sri Lankans’ dissatisfaction—particularly within the youth—with the current administration’s response to the country’s economic crisis. 

President Dissanayake’s victory comes after a period of economic turmoil that began in 2022 under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, according to BBC. At its worst, inflation rose to 70 percent, provoking a series of youth-led protests called the aragalaya—the “struggle.” Citizens blamed Rajapaksa for the country’s instability, citing his corrupt and divisive methods of leadership, including the anti-Muslim sentiment that first got him elected, as reported by Al Jazeera. During the 2022 protests, Rajapaksa fled the country and Wickremesinghe was appointed in his place. 

Dissanayake was the candidate of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). According to the party website, the JVP, a Marxist organization, was born in response to Sri Lanka’s 1964 “bourgeoise government” that was unable to deal with the country’s socio-economic problems—conditions that closely parallel the nation’s current affairs. Since his childhood, Dissanayake advocated for unity amongst Sri Lanka’s various ethno-religious groups. He participated in demonstrations supporting autonomy for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority. In university, he joined the JVP’s student wing before formally joining the party in 1993. 

Dissanayake, who was sworn in on September 22, promised in his inaugural address to establish a “clean political culture [...] to win back people’s respect,” per BBC. In particular, Dissanayake emphasized his commitment to diversity, one of the cornerstones of his campaign, by having representatives from Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity present at the ceremony. In a special message to the JVP, the president praised the country’s unity between Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims, advocating for a new era of Sri Lankan politics
As the first president elected since Sri Lanka’s economic crisis began, all eyes will be on Dissanayake’s ability to uphold the promises he made during his campaign to alleviate the crisis. He inherits the $2.9 billion loan Wickremesinghe secured from the International Monetary Fund during his presidency, as reported by Reuters. In his promise to combat corruption, Dissanayake advocated for a restructuring of the nation’s $12.5 billion in debt. This change may require renegotiations of the IMF loans in accordance with Dissanayake’s new debt plan, potentially slowing the stream of money from the IMF, per the South China Morning Post. On the other hand, the president’s renegotiations may also alleviate stricter measures associated with the IMF lending, including spending cuts and raises in taxes. Sri Lankan bonds fell in the days after the election results due to anxiety over the impact Dissanayake’s administration may have on the fate of the country’s debt deals, according to Financial Times. The new government plans to begin talks with the IMF in upcoming weeks. Voters for Dissanayake, much of the country’s large impoverished population, hope for an easing of the harsh spending measures that come with the IMF’s loan structure. Investors in the Sri Lankan economy, and much of the country’s elite, will be keeping a watchful—and likely critical—eye on how the Marxist-leaning Dissanayake strays from the original parameters of the IMF deal without risking cancellation.