Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe – who took office at the peak of the 2022 economic collapse and imposed tough austerity policies per the terms of an IMF bailout – was trailing in a distant third.
Mr. Wickremesinghe has yet to concede, and an official result was not expected until later Sunday, but foreign minister Ali Sabry said the early count made it clear that Anura Kumara Dissanayaka had won.
“Though I heavily campaigned for President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the people of Sri Lanka have made their decision, and I fully respect their mandate for Anura Kumara Dissanayaka,” Mr. Sabry said on social media. – AFP