Opposition leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s 2024 presidential election with 5,740,179 votes (56%) following a historic second round of counting.
In the initial vote on September 21, no candidate received more than 50%. Dissanayake led with 42%, followed by main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa with 33%, and outgoing president Ranil Wickremesinghe at 17%.
After the second round of counting, Dissanayake won with 55.89%, marking the first time in Sri Lanka’s history that a second round of vote counting was conducted to consider second-preference votes.
Dissanayake’s victory represents a significant turnaround for the 56-year-old, who came a distant third in the 2019 presidential election, receiving only 3% of the votes.
How Sri Lanka’s instant runoff voting system works
In Sri Lanka’s presidential elections, voters rank their top three choices using 1, 2, and 3. A candidate who secures more than 50% of the first preference votes wins in the first round.
If no candidate achieves this majority, the second-preference votes are redistributed to the top two candidates, and, if necessary, third-preference votes are counted to determine the winner.
Sri Lanka’s major political shift
This was Sri Lanka’s first presidential election since the 2022 economic crisis, which sparked mass protests and led to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa being ousted from power.
Dissanayake is the leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a party that has lost five presidential elections since its formation in 1965, including in 1982, 1994, 1999, 2019, and 2022, before winning in 2024.
The 56-year-old Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s 10th president by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya on September 23, promising a new era and a different approach to governance.
However, questions remain about how Dissanayake will manage to lead the country, given that his party, the JVP, has 3 MPs in Sri Lanka’s 225-member parliament.
The three largest political parties in Sri Lanka’s 16th parliament are the Sri Lanka People’s Freedom Alliance (SLPFA) with 145 members, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) with 50 members, and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) with 10 members.
Dissanayake could form a political alliance with one of the largest parties, such as the SLPFA or SJB. However, this could alienate his core supporters who voted against the establishment.
Alternatively, he could dissolve parliament and call for a snap parliamentary election, leveraging the momentum from his recent presidential victory to gain more seats.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s short biography
- Born on November 24, 1968, in Galewela, Central Province, Sri Lanka.
- Graduated with a BSc in Physics from the University of Kelaniya in 1995.
- Became the National Organiser of the Socialist Students Association in 1997 and was appointed to the Central Working Committee of the JVP.
- Has been an MP since 2000.
- Served as Minister of Agriculture from April 10, 2004, to June 24, 2005.
- Succeeded Somawansa Amarasinghe as the JVP leader on February 2, 2014, during the party’s 17th national convention.
- Was the Chief Opposition Whip from September 2015 to December 2018.
- Formed the National People’s Power (NPP) in 2019.
- Came third with 3% of the vote in Sri Lanka’s 2019 presidential elections.
- Became Sri Lanka’s 10th President after winning the 2024 presidential elections with 55.89%.
Sri Lanka’s 2024 presidential election results
| Candidate | Political Party | Political Alliance | First Preference Votes | Vote % | 1st & 2nd Preference Votes | Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anura Kumara Dissanayake | JVP | NPP | 5,634,915 | 42.31% | 5,740,179 | 55.89% |
| Sajith Premadasa | SJB | SJB | 4,363,035 | 32.76% | 4,530,902 | 44.11% |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe | Independent | UNP | 2,299,767 | 17.27% | Eliminated | Eliminated |
