MELBOURNE, 23 September, 2024: Anura Kumara Dissanayaka (AKD) Leader of the Marxist JVP and the NPP coalition has been elected as the 9th President of Sri Lanka. He is expected to take oath of office today, after the result is officially declared. Anura defeated right-wing SJB’s Sajith Premadasa. The winner got after second preference counting a total of 5,740,179 votes and the loser got 4,530,902 votes. All other candidates were eliminated according to the Lankan election system.
AKD’s victory is a watershed moment in the troubled Island nations political history, facing unprecedented economic bankruptcy, leading to aragalaya (struggle) by the Sri Lankan people, which ousted the then President Rajapaksha. And, was replaced by Wickremesinghe, a former President, who negotiated an economic bailout from the IMF, leading to unpopular austerity measures.
AKD heads the broad NPP coalition, and has been rebranding (moderating) the hard Left JVP, which led two violent failed insurrections in 1971 and 1987 to capture power. Thousands were killed in attacks and state repression and in subsequent years the JVP became a democratic party. In the current Parliament it has only 3 seats and that is why Anura is eager to have Parliamentary elections soon. In the Presidential elections NPP won in 15 out of 22 districts.
The legacy of the defeated LTTE Tamil rebellion is still there, as it looks most Tamil areas did not vote for the NPP, instead reports suggest they voted for the SJB’s Sajith Premdasa, reports The Hindu. The JVP’s fierce opposition to the LTTE and the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, continues to resonate. One has to wait and see how the lingering shadows of the past continue to haunt communities, in the light of economic challenges that hurt all communities equally.
AKD’s biggest challenge will be economic. The Sri Lankan economy is still not out of the woods and the people have voted for a change. In fact, in a way, Anura’s victory is the defeat of the IMF’s austerity measures. Anura has said, he will renegotiate the IMF loan and fight corruption. Another task will be to bring back Sri Lankan money parked by corrupt politicians in tax heavens. Yes, it won’t be easy to fight corrupt and mismanaging politicians who destroyed Sri Lanka’s economy.
But with a powerful mandate AKD can take steps to address peoples concerns. The chinks of the past will haunt, but in the technology driven world new and rational steps are needed to plug issues that are less emotional and more practical. A rational balancing act in relations with India and China will serve the Lankan people.
Sri Lanka has voted for change as a united country of all communities. Harping on faith, ethnicity and narrow politics will not help. This break from the past can help cruising through the economic and social problems plaguing the country.
“We stand ready to rewrite Sri Lankan history,” AKD has said in an X post. “This dream can only be realised with a fresh start. The unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and all Sri Lankans is the bedrock of this new beginning. The New Renaissance we seek will rise from this shared strength and vision,” the President-elect, who is due to be sworn in on Monday (23 sept., 2024) said.
