Sri Lankan outsider leftist Dissanayake wins presidential election

Politician's turnaround stuns ruling elite, taps public rage from economic crisis

20240923 Anura Kumara Dissanayake  on Sunday

 Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrives party's headquarters in Colombo on Sept. 22. His victory in Sri Lanka's presidential election marks a sharp contrast to previous poor results by him and his political alliance. (Photo by Shinya Sawai)

MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondent

COLOMBO -- Leftist antiestablishment lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake won Saturday's presidential election in Sri Lanka, shocking a political elite that has dominated power in the South Asian nation for nearly eight decades.

"This achievement is not the result of any single person's work, but the collective efforts of thousands of you," he said, on the verge of becoming the ninth executive president of Sri Lanka. Dissanayake is to be sworn in as president on Monday at a ceremony in Colombo, the commercial capital.

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