Communist Anura Kumara Dissanayake sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president

The communist Anura Kumara Dissanayake (Thambuttegama, 55 years old) was sworn in as President of Sri Lanka on Monday. The candidate of the left-wing coalition National People’s Power won this Sunday with 42.31% of the votes in the presidential elections, against the candidates of the centre-left, Sajith Premadasa, and the centre-right, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the outgoing president. Dissanayake is the leader of the People’s Liberation Front, which defines itself as a communist and Marxist-Leninist party that is part of the front that won the elections.

During the handover ceremony held on Monday at the presidential headquarters in Colombo, the country’s capital, Dissanayake stressed the need to improve the country’s economic situation, stressing that this must be done with a “political revolution.” Since the end of 2021, the Asian island has been experiencing a serious economic crisis. In 2022, financial turbulence took down the then president, the right-wing Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was forced to resign from office in the face of social protests over his inability to manage the situation.

Last year, the country declared bankruptcy and its citizens are facing cuts and tax increases to meet the loan of almost 3 billion dollars (about 2.687 billion euros) that the International Monetary Fund granted them to deal with the bankruptcy – in fact, there have been problems with the supply of fuel, food and medicines. The new president’s party says that they will not break the agreement with the IMF. “Our plan is to enter into talks with the IMF and introduce certain modifications. We will not break the program; it is a binding document, but there is a willingness to renegotiate it,” said members of the party’s executive. During his inauguration, Dissanayake, dressed in white, reiterated the idea of ​​renegotiating this loan.

In his speech, Dissanayake promised to crack down on corruption and cut taxes. “Our politics needs to be cleaner and people have asked for a different political culture. I am ready to commit to that change.” During the campaign, the president-elect repeated his intentions to reduce income taxes, which were doubled by his predecessor, President Wickremesinghe, as well as on food and medicine. However, the coalition that brought the president to power has only three of the 225 seats in Parliament, which could make governability difficult until new legislative elections are held; Dissanayake has promised to call them within 45 days. Until then, the president must also appoint an interim government, following the resignation of Dinesh Gunawardena as Prime Minister. “I am committed to demonstrating my dedication to protecting and defending democracy,” he added.

Dissanayake’s victory has been welcomed by a number of foreign governments. Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated the president and pledged to “achieve long-term and steady progress in the strategic cooperative partnership” they share. China is Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral creditor and has provided guarantees to the IMF to support the island’s debt restructuring. Indian President Narendra Modi has also said he looks forward to “working closely with Sri Lanka” [Dissanayake] to further strengthen [la] multifaceted cooperation for the benefit of [su] people and the entire region.”

For his part, the spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, has stressed that the elections “are a demonstration of the strength of Sri Lanka’s democratic institutions and the commitment of its citizens to determine their future through democratic and peaceful means.” “The US remains committed to supporting Sri Lanka in its task of building a stable, prosperous and cohesive society,” he said in a statement.

“Our country needs international support. We hope that regardless of the divisions in the international community, we will get the best deal. We will not hesitate to take decisions to achieve this,” Dissanayake said during the inauguration. His supporters held up posters with his image and Sri Lankan flags while chanting: “AKD”, an acronym for the newly appointed head of state and as he is known. “I am very happy. We worked very hard for this victory,” a supporter told Reuters. In previous elections, in 2019 and 2022, the presidential coalition won 3.16% and 1.37% of the votes, respectively. “For the first time, we poor people have someone to defend us,” he added.

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