Opposition leader Dissanayake wins Sri Lanka's presidential election
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the opposition National People Power Alliance, has won the presidential election in Sri Lanka. This was reported by Adaderana on Sunday, September 22, citing the country's Election Commission.
"The commission said on its website that 55-year-old Dissanayake won the presidential election with 42.31% of the vote, pushing opposition leader Sajith Premadasa to second place and incumbent President Ranil Wickramesinghe to third," the publication said.
Dissanayake has already contested the 2019 presidential election but came third then with only 3% of the vote.
Sri Lanka's presidential election was held on the island on September 21. More than 5.7 million voters cast their ballots for Dissanayake.
Sri Lanka's economic crisis worsened in late 2021 due to restrictions on tourism amid a coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the country began to experience a shortage of foreign exchange reserves, causing the authorities to have to reduce imports and begin conserving resources.
On April 12, 2022, Sri Lanka's Ministry of Finance defaulted on its external obligations.
Later, on July 15, 2022, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially left office. Sri Lanka's parliament elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new head of state on July 20. 134 MPs voted in his favor. Rajapaksa announced his intention to step down from the presidency following protests in Sri Lanka over the economic crisis.
