Anura Kumara Dissanayake Sworn in as Sri Lanka's 9th President

Tags: International News

On September 23, 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, aged 55, was sworn in as the 9th President of Sri Lanka.

An Overview of the News

• The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, officiated by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.

• This election marks the first presidential election since the 2022 economic collapse that led to the resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Election Results

• Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the Marxist-Leninist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), won the election with 42.31% of the vote.

• His main rival, Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), finished second, securing 32.76% of the vote.

Background on Anura Kumara Dissanayake

• Dissanayake began his political journey as a student leader during the second insurrection in the 1980s, a period marked by violence and mass killings in Sri Lanka.

• He was first elected to parliament in 2000 and served as Minister of Agriculture under President Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike from 2004 to 2005.

• In 2014, he became the leader of JVP, succeeding Somawansa Amarasinghe.

Previous Presidential Election

• Anura Kumara Dissanayake contested his first presidential election in 2019 but finished in third place, obtaining only 3% of the valid votes against Gotabaya Rajapaksa.