‘Self-Avowed Marxist’: Who Is Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lanka’s New President?

Left-leaning coalition, the National People’s Power (NPP) of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, achieved a sweeping victory in early legislative elections as voters rejected traditional political parties widely blamed for the nation’s economic turmoil.

NPP wins 123 out of 225 parliamentary seats

Election results announced on Friday revealed significant public support for Dissanayake’s anti-corruption agenda and commitment to recovering assets lost through corrupt practices.

The Marxist leader emphasized the importance of holding swift parliamentary elections to solidify support for his reform initiatives. Friday’s results demonstrated the success of this approach, with the NPP winning at least 123 out of 225 parliamentary seats, and projections indicating further gains. Preliminary counts showed the NPP receiving 62% of the vote, far surpassing the 18% garnered by the party of opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.

Who is Anura Kumara Dissanayake?

Anura Kumara Dissanayake was born on November 24, 1968, in Thambuththegama, Sri Lanka, into a working-class family. His father worked as a laborer, while his mother was a homemaker. During his school years, Dissanayake became active in the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party and was the first student from his school to gain admission to a university.

He initially attended the University of Peradeniya but had to leave due to safety concerns during the political unrest of the JVP insurrection from 1987 to 1989. He later earned a degree in physical sciences from the University of Kelaniya in 1995. Dissanayake quickly rose through the ranks of the JVP, becoming the National Organizer of the Socialist Students Association in 1995 and a member of the JVP’s Central Working Committee. By 1998, he had joined the JVP Politburo, a significant development as the party re-entered mainstream politics under Somawansa Amarasinghe.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake as cabinet minister in President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government

In 2004, Dissanayake was appointed as a cabinet minister in President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government, handling portfolios such as agriculture, livestock, land, and irrigation. However, he, along with other JVP ministers, resigned a year later in protest against a government-LTTE agreement on tsunami relief coordination.

Dissanayake became the leader of the JVP in 2014, succeeding Somawansa Amarasinghe. As the JVP’s presidential candidate in 2019, he secured third place with 3% of the vote. For the 2024 presidential elections, he ran under the NPP banner, a coalition he had established. In a dramatic political turnaround, he won 42.31% of the vote in the first round and 55.89% in the runoff.

History in making

On September 23, Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president, making history as the first leader from a third party to hold the office. Known for his Marxist ideology, he has been a vocal opponent of economic policies he perceives as detrimental to the working class. He has also criticized the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditions for a $2.9 billion bailout, advocating for renegotiated terms, tax cuts on incomes and essential goods, and a reduction of VAT.

During his presidential campaign, Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressed one of Sri Lanka’s most harrowing recent tragedies: the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.

On April 21, 2019, a series of devastating explosions targeted churches and international hotels in Colombo, claiming the lives of at least 290 people and injuring hundreds more. The attack stands as one of the deadliest in Sri Lanka’s history.

A different President

Despite the passage of five years, investigations into the coordinated attacks and the security lapses that allowed them to occur have yielded few concrete answers. Some critics have accused the previous administration, led by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, of obstructing the investigative process.

In an interview, Dissanayake pledged to initiate a thorough investigation if elected president, suggesting that previous authorities had avoided probing the issue out of fear that it would expose their own culpability. He described this lack of accountability as part of a broader pattern of unkept promises by the country’s political establishment.

Dissanayake remarked that this failure was emblematic of deeper systemic issues, noting that political leaders who vowed to combat corruption had themselves become embroiled in it, while those who promised to reduce the national debt had instead exacerbated it. He further criticized politicians who pledged to uphold the rule of law but ultimately acted in ways that undermined it.

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