Anura Kumara Dissanayake sworn in as Sri Lanka’s 9th Executive President

Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as the ninth Executive President of Sri Lanka this morning (September 23) at the Presidential Secretariat, before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.

In the presidential election held on September 21, 2024, Dissanayake won with 5,634,915 votes, representing 42.31% of the total vote.

He was the candidate of the National People’s Power (NPP) party.

A record 38 candidates participated in Sri Lanka’s 2024 Presidential Election, held on Saturday, September 21, 2024, with the final results announced on September 22, 2024.

For the first time in the country’s history, election officials counted second-preference votes after no candidate secured more than 50% of the total vote.

The Chairman of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, R.M.A.L. Rathnayake officially announced the commencement of counting second-preference votes on September 22, 2024, for the two leading candidates in Sri Lanka’s 2024 presidential election.

Rathnayake stated that all other candidates, except for National People’s Power (NPP) candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Samagi Jana Sandhanaya candidate Sajith Premadasa, were eliminated from the race.

The Election Commission of Sri Lanka made this announcement following the second-preference vote count held on September 22, 2024, marking a historic first in the country.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa finished second, while incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe placed third and was eliminated after the first round.

The final results of Sri Lanka’s 2024 Presidential Election can be viewed here.

In a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) after the release of the results, Dissanayake said:

“The dream we have nurtured for centuries is finally coming true. This achievement is not the result of any single person’s work, but the collective effort of hundreds of thousands of you. Your commitment has brought us this far, and for that, I am deeply grateful. This victory belongs to all of us.

“Our journey here has been paved by the sacrifices of so many who gave their sweat, tears, and even their lives for this cause. Their sacrifices are not forgotten. We hold the scepter of their hopes and struggles, knowing the responsibility it carries. The millions of eyes filled with hope and expectation push us forward, and together, we stand ready to rewrite Sri Lankan history.

“This dream can only be realized with a fresh start. The unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and all Sri Lankans is the bedrock of this new beginning. The New Renaissance we seek will rise from this shared strength and vision.

“Let us join hands and shape this future together!,” he said.

Born on November 24, 1968, in Thambuttegama, a village in the Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka’s North Central Province, Dissanayake’s full name is Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Anura Kumara Dissanayake. His father was a laborer, and his mother was a housewife. He had one sister.

Dissanayake received his education at Thambuttegama Gamini Maha Vidyalaya and Thambuttegama Central College, becoming the first student from the college to gain university admission. His political involvement began during his school days when he became active in the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).

He joined the JVP in 1987 and participated in student politics, becoming a full-time political activist during the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection. He enrolled at the University of Peradeniya but left a few months later due to security threats. In 1992, he transferred to the University of Kelaniya, where he graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical science.

During his time in university, he became the National Organizer of the Socialist Students Association in 1995 and was appointed to the Central Working Committee of the JVP. In 1998, he was promoted to the JVP Politburo.

After the JVP re-entered mainstream politics under Somawansa Amarasinghe, the party supported Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in the 1994 parliamentary election but soon became vocal critics of her administration.

Dissanayake entered parliament in 2000 through the JVP’s National List and was reappointed following the 2001 parliamentary election. In 2004, the JVP allied with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to contest the parliamentary elections as part of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), winning 39 seats.

Dissanayake was elected from the Kurunegala District and appointed Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in the SLFP-JVP coalition government in February 2004.

However, he resigned from his ministerial position on June 16, 2005, along with other JVP ministers, following the party’s decision to leave the UPFA in opposition to the government’s controversial joint mechanism with the LTTE for tsunami relief coordination in the north and east.

Dissanayake served as Chief Opposition Whip from September 2015 to December 2018. On February 2, 2014, at the JVP’s 17th National Convention, he was elected as the new party leader, succeeding Somawansa Amarasinghe.

On August 18, 2019, the NPP, led by the JVP, announced that Dissanayake would be its presidential candidate for the 2019 election. He finished third, receiving 418,553 votes, or 3% of the valid votes cast. On August 29, 2023, the NPP confirmed that Dissanayake would run for president again in 2024.