A political earthquake in Sri Lanka
Posted by: John Phoenix
“Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been sworn in as the new President of Sri Lanka. His election is a political earthquake as Sri Lankans have rejected entrenched parties and handed power to a non-elite for the first time” (Yudhajit Shankar Das, ‘Sri Lanka now delivers a political earthquake in India’s neighbourhood’, India Today, 23 September 2024).
Comrade Dissanayake’s victory in the presidential elections in Sri Lanka that took place on 21 September is all the more remarkable for the fact that in the previous election a mere five years ago, where again he was standing as a candidate for the presidency, his share of the vote was a mere 3.16%. In the parliamentary elections a year later his Party, the JVP, gained only three seats.
How is ...