Sri Lanka election: Marxist-leaning Dissanayake wins presidency, vows to fight corruption

Sri Lankans elected Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake as new president on Sunday, putting faith in his pledge to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery following the South Asian nation's worst financial crisis in decades. Dissanayake, 55, who does not possess political lineage like some of his rivals in the presidential election, led from start to finish during the counting of votes, knocking out incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. “There was a need for a government with a mandate from the people, if you want to rescue the country from the crisis,” Dissanayake said after the presidential results. “The people’s mandate that is needed to take this country forward is being established. That was the main point of the presidential election.” “This is what we want. After 76 years of bad politicians doing something bad to our country. This is the change we need. Actually we hope the new president will do something better,” voter and banker Mohammad Nafang said. For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ Follow Global News on X HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB #GlobalNews #SriLanka #AnuraKumaraDissanayake