Sri Lanka’s Dissanayake in early lead to become president

In his campaign to become the next president of the debt-ridden nation, Sri Lanka’s Marxist-leaning leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake seized a commanding early lead on Sunday ( Sep 22 ) in a bid to elect a leader to bolster its fragile economic recovery.

According to Sri Lanka’s Election Commission data, Dissanayake accounted for 54 % of the election‘s current half a million votes. Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the opposition, was in second position with 20 %, a few thousand vote ahead of President Ranil Wickremesinghe in fourth place.

According to the polling station, about 75 % of the 17 million eligible voters in the island country of the Indian Ocean cast their ballots on Saturday.