Sri Lankans reject political establishment and vote for left-wing change in historic presidential election

At podium after podium during Sri Lanka's presidential election campaign, Anura Kumara Dissanayake talked of the change he would bring to his debt-ridden country, which is mired in a fragile economic recovery.

"We will defeat those who use the influence of their family, their wealth, the influence of government," he told a large crowd on the last day rallies were allowed ahead of Saturday's vote.

"All will be defeated by the power of the people."

That message against the established political order, accused of corruption and mismanaging funds, resonated deeply with millions of Sri Lankans who cast their ballots for the Marxist-leaning candidate who heads the National People's Party (NPP) coalition.

Dissanayake, 55, led the early counting Sunday in Sri Lanka's presidential vote, jumping to a commanding lead, but finished at 42 per cent below the 50 per cent threshold needed to be officially declared president in the first count. His closest competitor Sajith Premadasa, the opposition leader was trailing the frontrunner by about 10 percentage points.

Under Sri Lanka's preferential ballot system, in which voters can tick their second and third choices, officials started a second count for the first time in the country's history.

Dissayanake was declared the winner Sunday evening, after the second count, receiving more than 5.7 million votes, according to Sri Lanka's election commission.

It was a vote for change, many Sri Lankans said, as they cast their ballots.

"We wanted change to come for our children, our children's children," said Colombo resident Mohamed Razik Mohamed Inoon, who cast a ballot for Dissanayake.

He was tired of choosing between the same old, established two political camps, he told CBC News.

"They have sold out the country."

Dissanayake's win is a dramatic turnaround for his party, which has long been on the fringe and only holds three seats in Sri Lanka's parliament. It led unsuccessful Marxist insurrections against the government in the late 1980s and early 1970s.

This presidential election is Sri Lanka's first since it defaulted on its loans in 2022, plunging the country into a crippling economic crisis marked by acute shortages of fuel and other basic goods.

A massive people's protest erupted and tens of thousands of Sri Lankans took to the streets, forcing then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, blamed for running the country's finances into the ground, to flee.

Financial squeeze a top issue for voters

This election was widely seen as a referendum on the tenure of Wickremesinghe, the former finance minister, who was appointed president by Sri Lanka's parliament after Rajapaksa resigned.

Wickremesinghe, 75, campaigned on his economic record in this election. While he was in office, he stabilized the economy and brought inflation down from a high of 70 per cent to about 0.5 per cent. He also negotiated a crucial bailout package with the International Monetary Fund to contain Sri Lanka's economic crisis, raising taxes in the process.

WATCH | Sri Lankans struggle amid economic collapse:

Sri Lanka struggles amid economic collapse, soaring inflation

2 years ago

Duration 2:50

Sri Lankan citizens say they're struggling to make ends meet amid an economic crisis and sky-high inflation.

Comparing Sri Lanka to the Titanic, Wickremesinghe told the gathered crowd at a rally in Matara on Sept. 18, that "it could have sunk there was no captain. I took responsibility for the ship."

But Wickremesinghe's plea to continue the same work on the economy didn't capture voters, many of whom have been struggling with the consequences of the austerity measures to rein in debt, including high taxes and food prices.

Levels of poverty in the country have doubled since the economic crisis erupted in 2022.

The economy, and financial pain from related austerity measures, was a top election issue for those working at the Paliyagoda fish market, near Colombo.

"I don't know what's going to happen to the country," said fishmonger Kushan Chamara, 30. "Now we don't have any business."

He said taxes have risen so dramatically that his family business is struggling to buy the fish it needs to make enough sales and pay the salaries of their handful of workers.

Chamara wanted a president "who's going to help the people of Sri Lanka." He voted for Dissanayake.

Wikremesinghe wound up in third place and was eliminated after the first round.

"The criticism of the [Wickremesinghe] government is that it has disproportionately put the burden of adjustment on those least able to bear it," said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives think-tank.

There's also the fact that Wickremesinghe was closely linked to the Rajapaksa family and its powerful political dynasty. They were accused of negotiating corrupt deals and bankrupting the island nation.

Many see Wickremesinghe as "a representative of a political elite that governed this country for the last seven decades and got us into this crisis", according to Saravanamuttu.

A large number of Sri Lankans want "fresh blood injected into the system," he said.

"We need a new social contract because the one that we have is totally decrepit."

'He's our last hope'

For Dissanayake's supporters, his message to help the country's poor make ends meet was a welcome relief, with many feeling a deep disillusionment with the ruling class.

At one of his last rallies to conclude the election campaign in the capital Colombo, 17-year old Janvi Sunree was exuberant about the left-leaning's candidate's potential, even though she was too young to vote.

"Some people [in Sri Lanka] are living their best lives and some are not, they're struggling a lot," she told CBC News.

"We need change," she added. "And he's our last hope."

That sentiment was echoed by Mohamed Farzan, 63, who has never voted in previous elections but cast a ballot for Dissanayake on Saturday.

"I thought, 'This guy is genuine, and we need genuine people to take over the country,'" said Farzan, who lives in the suburb of Ratmalana.

"Corruption is at its peak. So we need someone who can bring that to zero, and he can do that."

General election to come

Voter turnout, according to the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, was about 75 per cent, which is lower than in past elections.

Sri Lanka imposed a curfew overnight during ballot counting, which was extended until midday Sunday, as a precaution to avoid any violence, even though officials described the vote as one of the most peaceful in the country's history.

Dissanayake, who could be sworn in as president Monday, is expected to immediately call a general election to increase the number of seats for his party in Sri Lanka's parliament.

But there could be challenges ahead for the president-elect, analysts said, particularly in making sure the country sticks with the IMF bailout program conditions and ensures economic growth, while also fulfilling his promises to reduce the burden on Sri Lanka's poorest. The island nation is set to start repaying its debts in 2028.

"This is the first time that they have received a mandate to run a country and they have never been in the opposition," said Indika Perera, Colombo-based lawyer and peace and conflict analyst.

He said there will be intense scrutiny on the Marxist-leaning party on "whether they will be able to get their act together and formulate international policies."

"We are at a crucial stage in [our economic recovery]. Sri Lanka is standing at the edge of the table, so if we start dancing, we might fall."