Anura Kumara Dissanayake set to become Sri Lanka's president

By Anadolu staff

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Marxist-leaning parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake has a convincing lead in the presidential race in Sri Lanka, unofficial results showed early Sunday.

The results suggest Dissanayake, 55, has a comfortable lead in clinching the coveted office to become the nation’s 10th president.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa is in second place, while incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was touted as one of the two front-runners along with Dissanayake, is third.

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said on X that Dissanayaka has won.

Election authorities said about 76% of the 17.1 million eligible voters turned out to vote.

Thirty-eight candidates ran Saturday in the presidential election, the first since Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in 2022, leading to the ouster of the government, including the serving president.

The election was seen as a referendum on Wickremesinghe’s two years in office, which has seen a slight recovery in the country’s economy since the 2022 financial crisis.