Dissanayake won about 53% of a million votes counted so far in the election, Sri Lanka's Election Commission data showed.
A man waves Sri Lanka's national flag after climbing a tower near presidential secretariat in Colombo on July 11, 2022, after it was overrun by anti-government protestors. Sri Lanka's Marxist-leaning leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, grabbed a commanding early lead on Sunday in his bid to become the next president of the debt-ridden country seeking to elect a leader to bolster its fragile economic recovery.
Dissanayake contested as candidate for the National People's Power alliance, which includes his Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna party that has traditionally backed stronger state intervention, lower taxes and more closed market economic policies. "After a long and arduous campaign, the results of the election are now clear," Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said on X.
Thousands of protesters marched in Colombo in 2022 and occupied the president's office and residence, forcing then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign. Buttressed by a $2.9 billion bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund , the economy has posted a tentative recovery but the high cost of living was still a critical issue for many voters.
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