International Desk: Anudha Kumara Dishanayake was sworn in as the President of Sri Lanka. Qatar-based media Al Jazeera reported that Dishanayeke took the oath at the President’s Secretariat building in the capital Colombo on Monday (September 23) morning.
Meanwhile, BBC says that after taking the oath, Dishanayake has promised clean politics. He said, I will try my best to restore public trust in politicians.
The 55-year-old new president of Sri Lanka said, “I am neither a gambler nor a magician.” There are things I know and don’t know, but I will seek the best advice and do my best. I want everyone’s cooperation for this.
Earlier on Sunday, the Election Commission of the country confirmed that National People’s Power candidate Anudha Kumara Dishanaye has won the election held on Saturday.
Xinhua from Colombo reported that the Election Commission counted the second and third choice votes of the top two candidates in the second round for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka’s presidential election, as no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote. Dishanaye got 5.634 thousand 915 votes in the first count and 1 lakh 5 thousand 264 votes in the second count.
His main rival opposition Samagi Jana Balawega candidate, Sajith Premadasa, got 4.363 thousand 35 votes in the first count and 1.67 thousand 867 votes in the second count.
In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) after the election results, Dishanayeke said, “Millions of eyes filled with hope and expectation inspire us to move forward, and together we are ready to rewrite the history of Sri Lanka.”
His post further states that this dream can only be realized through a fresh start. Unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and all Sri Lankans is the foundation of this new beginning. The new renaissance we seek will arise from this collective energy and dream.
On July 13, 2022, the Rajapaksa government fell in Sri Lanka in the face of mass protests. The then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to flee the country. A week after the incident, the interim government led by Ranil Wickremesinghe took power. After two years of mass protests, the country held presidential elections last Saturday.
