Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s coalition won yesterday’s parliamentary elections in a landslide, with the National People’s Power alliance winning 159 of 225 seats in the legislature, a two-thirds majority. Dissanyake called the snap elections after winning the country’s presidential election and taking office in September. (New York Times)
Our Take
The presidential and parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka in many ways represent the culmination of the revolution that began with the popular uprising known as the Aragalaya in July 2022. Coming in the depths of a severe economic crisis that saw Sri Lanka default on its sovereign debt, the Aragalaya drove then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power. But at the time, it did not lead to substantive political change: Rajapaksa was replaced by another establishment figure, and Sri Lanka’s political elites were then put in charge of fixing the crisis they had created.
In fairness, Sri Lanka’s government did successfully negotiate an IMF bailout program that has stabilized the country’s economy. But the program has come with strict austerity measures that, combined with lingering anger over the economic crisis, vaulted Dissanayake to power. Over the past two years, Dissanayake has presented himself and the NPP as agents of change to capitalize on the groundswell of anger. And their years on the fringes of Sri Lankan politics ended up being an advantage, as their outsider status left them untarnished by the political establishment’s failure.