The recent election in Sri Lanka, the first since the 2022 economic collapse, marked a historic milestone for the island nation. Left-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake pipped centrist Sajith Premadasa after a close contest. The 55-year-old's Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), was part of the National People’s Power (NPP) alliance comprising 21 groups including political parties, trade unions, and civil society collectives.
According to Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election Act, a candidate has to get more than 50% votes in the first round to become the president. In case that doesn’t happen, all candidates except for the top two are eliminated. Any second or third preferences marked on the ballot by voters in either of the remaining candidate’s favour is then counted to decide the result.
When the votes were counted on Sunday, September 22, local media reports said Dissanayake secured 42.31% of votes, while Sajith Premadasa got 32.76% votes. Since both of them failed to get the required 50%, the preferential votes were counted. Since the margin of difference was nearly 10 lakh votes, JVP claimed victory, while several members from the opposition camp conceded defeat. However, SJB leader Sujeewa Senasinghe alleged that the election officials were partial towards the NPP. “Counting of preferential votes began without official representatives. This is illegal,” he said. Ranil Wickremesinghe
Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles extended the curfew imposed from 10 pm to 6 pm. Wickramesinghe had invoked the curfew using powers granted by the Public Security Act.
The election, which saw a total of 39 candidates in the fray, was expected to be a close contest between Dissanayake, outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Sajith, who was Leader of Opposition and the head of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party. According to reports, 17,140,350 of around 22 million Sri Lankans were eligible to vote. Ranil was pushed to the third place with 17.27% while Ariyanethiran Pakkiyaselvam, representing the Tamil population, got 1.7% votes.
The SJB included defectors from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)—the party of the Rajapaksas. Premadasa has contested on a centrist plank but strongly criticised Wickremesinghe’s handling of the economic crisis and the austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The SJB promised in its manifesto economic reform that centres “social justice” and increases public spending.
Premadasa had also pitched for the implementation of Amendment 13, which sought to merge Tamil majority regions in the north and east into a province and ensure devolution of power to regional, Tamil authorities. In contrast, Dissanayake has been vocally critical of the amendment, raising questions about how the new government would treat its minorities. The party’s violent insurrections and Sinhala chauvinism in the past also does not help its case. Dissanayake, in his plans to take the country out of debt, has pledged to renegotiate the terms of the IMF rescue package instead of scrapping it.
The JVP chief was one of the leaders in the 2022 Janatha Aragalaya (the People’s Struggle) protests against the Rajapaksas. While Premadasa’s support base among young and working-class Sinhala voters was believed to be strong, Dissanayake’s campaign of “clean governance”, criticism of the state of health, education and transport sectors, seems to have resonated with a section of Sri Lankans.
Dissanayake’s victory will also be watched with interest in India. The JVP has historically been critical of India, particularly regarding its involvement in Sri Lanka’s civil war during the 1980s, such as the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in the island nation. However, this position appears to have been diluted.
In February, the Union government invited him to hold meetings with government officials, members of the business community and visit centres of excellence in agriculture and industry. He visited New Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Thiruvananthapuram. Dissanayake told The Hindu that India was Sri Lanka’s “closest neighbour” and that the island nation will always keep India’s interests in mind before taking economic and political decisions.
On September 16, ahead of the elections, Dissanayake announced his intention to cancel the agreement established by the Wickremesinghe administration with the Adani Group, which aims to develop 484 megawatts of wind power in Mannar and Pooneryn in northern Sri Lanka. This development is interesting, considering that the NPP manifesto promises “renewable energy diplomacy” which it defines as “Positioning Sri Lanka as a leader in renewable energy by promoting international partnerships and investments in sustainable energy projects. Participating in global renewable energy initiatives and sharing best practices.”
Reports also say that New Delhi is worried about Dissanayake’s leftist leanings and fears a closer alignment with China. India has security concerns regarding China’s influence over Sri Lanka and was said to be keener on Premadasa winning, believing that he would have been more likely to balance international relations between countries including India, China and the US.