Sri Lanka’s first leftist president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, was sworn into office on Monday, pledging to restore public confidence in politics following the nation’s unprecedented economic crisis, which fueled his landslide victory.
Dissanayake, 55, a self-declared Marxist and leader of the People’s Liberation Front (JVP), took his oath at the historic Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. His victory marks a significant shift in Sri Lankan politics, as he defeated his rivals by a wide margin in Saturday’s election.
Once a fringe figure, Dissanayake gained massive support after the 2022 economic collapse left many Sri Lankans grappling with severe hardships. His party, the JVP, had previously led two failed uprisings that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, but Dissanayake’s popularity surged amid growing disillusionment with the country’s political elite.
In the oath-taking ceremony, attended by lawmakers, the Buddhist clergy, and military officials, Dissanayake vowed to restore trust in politicians.
“I am not a magician,” he said. “There are things I know and things I don’t know, but I will seek the best advice and do my best. For that, I need everyone’s support.”
Dissanayake replaces Ranil Wickremesinghe, who became president during the peak of the financial crisis. Wickremesinghe had overseen harsh austerity measures, including tax hikes, as part of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout plan. While these policies stabilized the economy and ended shortages of essential goods, they left millions of Sri Lankans struggling to survive.
Wickremesinghe, 75, placed third in the election and, in his concession statement, expressed pride in his efforts to stabilize the country during its darkest times.
Just before the ceremony, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned, clearing the way for Dissanayake to appoint his own cabinet. His JVP party, which holds only three seats in the 225-member parliament, is expected to form a temporary cabinet until new parliamentary elections later this year.
Dissanayake has committed to continuing the IMF bailout but plans to renegotiate its terms to allow for tax cuts. A senior JVP member, Bimal Ratnayake, confirmed that while the bailout agreement is binding, there is room for renegotiation.
The JVP, once a militant group responsible for violent uprisings in the 1970s and 1980s, renounced violence years ago and had been a marginal player in Sri Lankan politics until the recent crisis. Dissanayake, a former student leader during the second rebellion, has since softened some of his party’s hardline stances, expressing support for an open economy and selective privatization.
His rise has been seen as a response to the country’s deep political and economic discontent, and he is now tasked with leading a nation that continues to grapple with the aftermath of its worst financial crisis in decades.
