From 3% to President: Who Is Sri Lanka's Anura Kumara Dissanayake?

COLOMBO (News 1st); Aruna Kumara Dissanayake, was elected as Sri Lanka’s president on Sunday (22) following a second round runoff. The elections were the first since civil unrest in 2022 led to the resignation and departure from the country of the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is widely blamed for the economic crisis gripping the country. The 55-year-old AKD secured victory over opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over the country two years ago after its economy hit bottom.

Dissanayake received 5,740,179 votes, followed by Premadasa with 4,530,902, Election Commission data showed. It's a remarkable turnaround for a man who won just 3% of the votes in the 2019 election. He will now inherit governance of a nation that is struggling to emerge from the shadow of that crisis, and a populace that is desperate for change.

Who is AKD? Anura Kumara Dissanayake was born on November 24, 1968, in the village of Dewahuwa, Matale. He is the second child of Ranbanda and Seelawathi. Dissanayake received his primary education at Thambuttegama Primary School and completed his secondary education at Thambuttegama Central College.

From a young age, Dissanayake was involved in political activities. He was a prominent student activist during the public protests against the Indo-Lanka Accord signed in 1987. In 1992, he entered the University of Kelaniya, where he actively participated in various social and political activities, eventually earni.