Colombo. A new leftist government has now been formed in Sri Lanka, which is recovering from economic crisis. Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as the next President on Monday. He was sworn in by the country’s Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the Presidential Secretariat. In his speech, he thanked former President Ranil Wickremesinghe for the peaceful transfer of power.
56-year-old Dissanayake said, I assure that I will work to protect democracy and restore the reputation of politicians, because people have doubts about their conduct. He stressed that Sri Lanka needs international cooperation and he is not a magician, but a common citizen. Sri Lanka’s new President said, my first task will be to take decisions in the interest of the country by using the talent and knowledge of the people. I want to contribute to this entire responsibility.
Dissanayake’s victory is a turning point for Sri Lanka. He won the presidential election by defeating Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (CJB). In the election, no contender got 50 percent votes and hence the votes had to be counted again and then Dissanayake’s victory was confirmed. Dissanayake got a good turnout, especially the youth, who had been demanding a change in power for a long time.
Dissanayake got 5.74 million votes in the election, while Premadasa got 4.53 million votes. Dissanayake’s party JVP is a party of about 50 years but the party has been on the margins till now, and he is the first leader of his party to achieve such a big success.