Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka wins Sri Lanka's presidential election, defeats Ranil Wickremesinghe

Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka on Sunday won the presidential election in Sri Lanka defeating incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe .

Sri Lanka's election commission formally announced that, Dissanayaka, 55, secured 42.31% of the vote in Saturday's election, with opposition leader Sajith Premadasa finishing second. Wickremesinghe, the sitting president, placed a distant third.

The election commission confirmed the results on its official website. Dissanayaka is scheduled to be sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president on Monday.

Polling was conducted across over 13,400 stations in 22 electoral districts, with around 75% of Sri Lanka’s 17 million eligible voters participating. Dissanayake's victory marks a significant turning point for his once-marginal Marxist party, which had previously struggled to gain political influence after leading two failed uprisings in the 1970s and 1980s that resulted in over 80,000 deaths.

The party, now poised to lead the nation, has pledged not to abolish the controversial $2.9 billion IMF bailout agreement but aims to renegotiate its terms.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka imposed a night curfew on Saturday despite the election proceeding peacefully, as public discontent over the unpopular IMF deal continues to simmer. The election is widely seen as a referendum on this bailout.