Colombo/IBNS: Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Marxist leaning leader known for his closeness to China, has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election riding on the hope of combating corruption and refurbishing the struggling economy.

56-year-old Dissanayake called his win a  "vote for change" in the election held for the first time since the  2022 economic crisis and mass upsurge. He won after the second round of counting.

While no candidate won more than 50% of the total votes in the first round, Dissanayake got 42.31% while his closest rival, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, got 32.76%, according to BBC.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake tops first round of voting with 5,634,915 votes (42.31%), while Sajith Premadasa received 4,363,035 votes (32.76%) with Ranil Wickremesinghe polling 2,299,767 votes (17.27%), Election Commission Chairman Saman Sri Ratnayake said, according to Daily MIrror.

Elections Commission Chairman R.L.A.M. Ratnayake earlier said a second preference count will be conducted, as no candidate secured over 50% of the votes in the Presidential election, in line with the Presidential Elections Act of 1981, the report said.

According to a Deccan Herald report, Anura Kumara Dissanayake's win will pose a fresh challenge to India, already grappling with problems in the neighbourhood with the Bangladesh crisis.

He not only espouses Sinhala chauvinism and is close to China, but is known for having fanned anti-Indian sentiments in the tiny Indian Ocean island in the past, the report said. 

Dissanayake said that a Parliamentary election would be required soon, though he did not specify a timeline, according to the news outlet.

The 1968-born president-elect was a Member of Parliament from the Colombo District before the Presidential election, and is the current party leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (from 2014) and the National People's Power (from 2019). He was a candidate in the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, and he was named the NPP candidate for the 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election, campaigning on an anti-corruption platform in which he emerged as the winner.

An MP since 2000,  Dissanayake served as the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation from 2004 to 2005 and Chief Opposition Whip from 2015 to 2018. He was named the leader of JVP at the 17th National Convention of the party, held on 2 February 2014.