Marxist-leaning
lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake leads early official results in Sri Lanka’s
presidential election, according to tallies released on Sunday by the Election
Commission, but he is still short of the 50% needed for victory.
The
election held Saturday is crucial as the country seeks to recover from the
worst economic crisis in its history and the resulting political upheaval.
The
election, contested by 38 candidates, was largely a three-way race among
Dissanayake, incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition
leader Sajith Premadasa.
Dissanayake
was leading with 47% of total votes counted, followed by Premadasa with nearly
28% and Wickremesinghe with 15%.
The
election was a virtual referendum on Wickremesinghe’s leadership of a fragile
recovery, including restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt under an International
Monetary Fund bailout program after it defaulted in 2022.
No
major incidents were reported during the vote but authorities declared a
countrywide curfew until midday Sunday as a precaution, police said.
There
were 17 million eligible voters and final results are expected Sunday evening.
The
government announced Thursday that it passed the final hurdle in debt
restructuring by reaching an agreement in principle with private bond holders.
At
the time of its default, Sri Lanka’s local and foreign debt totaled $83
billion. The government says it has now restructured more than $17 billion.
Despite
a significant improvement in key economic figures, Sri Lankans are struggling
with high taxes and living costs.
Both
Premadasa and Dissanayake say they will renegotiate the IMF deal to make
austerity measures more bearable. Wickremesinghe has warned that any move to
alter the basics of the agreement could delay the release of a fourth tranche
of nearly $3 billion that is crucial to maintaining stability.