Dissanayake, the 56-year-old chief of the Nationwide Folks’s Energy (NPP) alliance, secured a slender victory within the presidential election after counting of votes entered a second spherical – one other first within the island nation’s historical past.
Sri Lanka’s election fee formally introduced the outcomes on Sunday night, confirming that Dissanayake had defeated incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The fee stated on its web site that Dissanayake gained the presidency with 42.31% of the vote, pushing opposition chief Sajith Premadasa to second place and Wickremesinghe to a distant third. Dissanayake is because of be sworn-in on Monday.
The election, which was dubbed a three-cornered contest, was seen as a referendum on the financial reforms aimed toward steering Sri Lanka out of its extreme financial disaster. Many citizens had been primarily involved with the hovering inflation, escalating value of residing, and rising poverty within the nation.
Dissanayake’s victory marks a big shift in Sri Lankan politics, because the nation grapples with the aftermath of the mass protests that ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022.
The brand new president will face the problem of steering the nation in the direction of financial restoration whereas addressing the urgent problems with inflation and the price of residing.
What’s his stance on India?
Dissanayake is the chief of the traditionally anti-India Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
JVP’s founding chief, the late Rohana Wijeweera, lectured on “Indian expansionism” in the course of the Nineteen Eighties and the teachings portrayed India as an “enemy of Sri Lankan pursuits”. The celebration additionally vehemently opposed the Indo-Lanka accord of 1987 – signed by Sri Lanka’s then-president JR Jayewardene and India’s Rajiv Gandhi.
JVP led an rebellion rooted in opposition to Indian affect over Sri Lanka after the signing of the accord. It was violently put down by authorities forces.
Regardless of his celebration’s anti-India file and pro-China leaning, Dissanayake has expressed a want to interact with India and keep cordial relations.
The brand new Sri Lanka president has signaled a shift in stance, indicating readiness to work with various worldwide actors, together with India, which has a big curiosity in Sri Lanka. He, nevertheless, has additionally acknowledged that Sri Lanka is not going to turn out to be subordinate to any energy within the geopolitical race between India and China.
In interviews to media shops within the run as much as the elections, Dissanayake has outlined his key insurance policies:
- Making certain Sri Lanka’s sea, land, and airspace aren’t utilized in ways in which threaten India or regional stability.
- Rigorously contemplating the influence of financial measures on Sri Lanka whereas recognizing the significance of India’s assist in growth efforts.
- Safeguarding regional safety whereas leveraging financial alternatives to Sri Lanka’s benefit.
- Adopting a powerful international coverage that aligns with world situations and serves Sri Lanka’s nationwide pursuits successfully.
Journey to India
In early February 2024, Dissanayake visited New Delhi on an invite from the Indian authorities, assembly with exterior affairs minister S. Jaishankar and Nationwide Safety Adviser Ajit Doval.
Through the assembly, they mentioned bilateral relations and the mutual advantages of additional deepening ties. Jaishankar emphasised that India, with its Neighbourhood First and SAGAR insurance policies, will at all times be a dependable pal and trusted accomplice of Sri Lanka.
Responding to media queries after coming back from New Delhi, Dissanayake had insisted that high-level conferences with India didn’t point out a modifications within the celebration’s “political or economical insurance policies”.
“We will achieve so much from India in terms of sectors akin to data expertise,” he had stated, including that NPP hoped for India’s help in such areas.
“We hope to remodel the nation by main the individuals, and on this transformation we’d like worldwide assist … we are going to want capital and expertise. We will not win as an remoted nation, we have to strengthen worldwide relations,” Dissanayake stated.
Balancing act
Dissanayake’s diplomatic method represents a big departure from the methods employed by earlier Sri Lankan leaders. Not like his predecessors, Dissanayake has embraced a extra proactive and balanced international coverage that goals to strengthen ties with various world powers, together with India and China.
Previous Sri Lankan leaders have typically been perceived as aligning extra carefully with both India or China, resulting in issues about over-dependence and geopolitical tensions. Dissanayake’s balanced method represents a big shift in Sri Lanka’s international coverage, emphasising nonalignment, and the pursuit of Sri Lanka’s nationwide pursuits on the worldwide stage.
- Nonaligned international coverage: Central to Dissanayake’s technique is a dedication to a nonaligned international coverage. This method seeks to keep up a fragile steadiness between India and China, permitting Sri Lanka to interact with each powers with out changing into overly depending on both. Dissanayake’s latest diplomatic outreach to India, together with a go to in February 2024, displays this technique. Throughout his conferences with Indian officers, he emphasised the significance of strengthening bilateral ties whereas guaranteeing that Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and pursuits are upheld.
- Financial engagement: Dissanayake recognises the financial significance of each India and China for Sri Lanka’s restoration from its latest financial disaster. He has expressed intentions to ask international funding in sectors the place Sri Lanka lacks capability, akin to renewable vitality. By fostering financial partnerships with each nations, he goals to leverage their investments for nationwide growth. This pragmatic method is designed to boost Sri Lanka’s financial resilience whereas avoiding the pitfalls of debt dependency which have characterised previous engagements, significantly with China.
- Nationwide/maritime safety: Dissanayake has assured that his administration will keep cordial relations with India regarding nationwide safety and protection. This assurance is essential given India’s historic issues about China’s growing affect within the area, significantly following the controversial leasing of Hambantota Port to a Chinese language agency. Dissanayake’s stance suggests an consciousness of India’s strategic pursuits and a want to mitigate any potential safety dangers arising from China’s presence in Sri Lanka.
