Colombo, Sep 22 (PTI) Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Santosh Jha on Sunday called on president-elect Anura Kumar Dissanayake and congratulated him on winning Sri Lanka’s presidential election.
“Santosh Jha called on president-elect @anuradisanayake. Conveyed greetings from India’s leadership and congratulated him on winning the people’s mandate. India as Sri Lanka’s civilisational twin is committed to further deepen ties for the prosperity of the people of our two countries,” the Indian High Commission said in a post on X.
Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was declared the winner of the Sri Lankan presidential election by the country’s Election Commission after an unprecedented second round of counting votes.
Dissanayake, 56, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party’s broader front National People’s Power (NPP), defeated his closest rival Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe was eliminated in the first round after he failed to come in the top two in the vote list.
NPP said Dissanayake will take oath on Monday. He will be the 9th president of the island nation.
The election on Saturday was the first to be held since mass protests unseated Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022 after the country suffered an economic crisis.
Dissanayake faces the immediate challenge of determining the future of economic reforms in the cash-strapped country. PTI PY PY PY
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