Sri Lanka's new president Dissanayake promises change
Published: 04:09 PM,Sep 23,2024 | EDITED : 08:09 PM,Sep 23,2024
Sri Lanka's newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake addresses a gathering after taking his oath of office at the Presidential Secretariat, in Colombo. — Reuters
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office as president on Monday, promising change in the island nation long led by powerful political families which is emerging from its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades.
Millions of Sri Lankans had voted for the opposition parliamentarian, putting faith in his graft-fighting pledge and vow to bolster a fragile economic recovery.
'I pledge ... to demonstrate dedication to protecting and upholding democracy,' Dissanayake, 55, said in inauguration remarks at the president's office, saying he was taking office at a challenging time in the Indian Ocean nation. 'Our politics needs to be cleaner, and the people have called for a different political culture,' he added. 'I am ready to commit to that change.'
Dissanayake ran as the candidate for the National People's Power (NPP) alliance, which includes his Janatha Vimukhti Peremuna (JVP) party that traditionally championed Marxist economic policies centred on protectionism and state intervention.
Outside, dozens of supporters held up posters carrying his image, with some waving the Sri Lankan flag and chanting 'AKD', the initials of the new president, who displaces the incumbent, veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe. 'I’m very happy,' said one of them, beautician Iroma Nilanthi Liyanage, adding that Dissanayake inspired supporters with hope. 'We worked very hard for this victory. For the first time the poor people have someone who stands for them.'
Tasks he now faces include setting up a new cabinet and wooing parliament, where his party has just three of 225 seats, to pass a budget under the terms of a $2.9-billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This was Sri Lanka's first election since its economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage, leaving it unable to pay for imports of essentials including fuel, medicine and cooking gas. Protests forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign.
Before Monday's swearing-in, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned to make way for a new prime minister and cabinet. Gunawardena, 75, took over as prime minister in July 2022 after Rajapaksa fled and resigned amid protests unleashed by the crisis, which also triggered a debt default.
Dissanayake was declared the new president late on Sunday, displacing Wickremesinghe, who had been appointed by parliament to serve out Rajapaksa's remaining term. — Reuters
Millions of Sri Lankans had voted for the opposition parliamentarian, putting faith in his graft-fighting pledge and vow to bolster a fragile economic recovery.
'I pledge ... to demonstrate dedication to protecting and upholding democracy,' Dissanayake, 55, said in inauguration remarks at the president's office, saying he was taking office at a challenging time in the Indian Ocean nation. 'Our politics needs to be cleaner, and the people have called for a different political culture,' he added. 'I am ready to commit to that change.'
Dissanayake ran as the candidate for the National People's Power (NPP) alliance, which includes his Janatha Vimukhti Peremuna (JVP) party that traditionally championed Marxist economic policies centred on protectionism and state intervention.
Outside, dozens of supporters held up posters carrying his image, with some waving the Sri Lankan flag and chanting 'AKD', the initials of the new president, who displaces the incumbent, veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe. 'I’m very happy,' said one of them, beautician Iroma Nilanthi Liyanage, adding that Dissanayake inspired supporters with hope. 'We worked very hard for this victory. For the first time the poor people have someone who stands for them.'
Tasks he now faces include setting up a new cabinet and wooing parliament, where his party has just three of 225 seats, to pass a budget under the terms of a $2.9-billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This was Sri Lanka's first election since its economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage, leaving it unable to pay for imports of essentials including fuel, medicine and cooking gas. Protests forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign.
Before Monday's swearing-in, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned to make way for a new prime minister and cabinet. Gunawardena, 75, took over as prime minister in July 2022 after Rajapaksa fled and resigned amid protests unleashed by the crisis, which also triggered a debt default.
Dissanayake was declared the new president late on Sunday, displacing Wickremesinghe, who had been appointed by parliament to serve out Rajapaksa's remaining term. — Reuters