A snap parliamentary election is anticipated to be called by the newly elected Marxist president of Sri Lanka before he can revisit the island nation’s unpopular IMF bailout package.
Following a resounding victory in the weekend’s presidential votes, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a self-described Marxist and member of the People’s Liberation Front (JVP), was sworn into office on Monday.
There are currently only three members of his previously marginal party in the 225-member parliament of Sri Lanka.
However, following a 2022 economic collapse that killed millions of common Sri Lankans and a divisive IMF rescue package, support for Dissanayake increased.
When reporters questioned him late on Monday in Kandy, the capital, about whether he would honor a campaign promise to dissolve parliament as soon as he assumed office, he said, “Wait for two days.”
That same evening, Dissanayake’s parliamentary ally, lawmaker Harini Amarasuriya, informed reporters in Colombo that parliament will be dissolved “within a day”.
Dissanayake recognized an opportunity presented by Sri Lanka’s crisis, as his popularity increased following his pledge to reform the island’s “corrupt” political culture.
He received over 1.2 million more votes than his closest competitor and defeated 38 other contenders to win the presidential election on Saturday.
Coming in a distant third was his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had implemented sharp tax increases and other unpopular austerity measures as part of the $2.9 billion IMF bailout obtained last year.
On Monday, the IMF congratulated Dissanayake and stated that it was prepared to talk about the rescue plan’s future.
“We are eager to collaborate with President Dissanayake in order to further consolidate the hard-earned victories that have elevated Sri Lanka to a path toeconomic recovery,” a spokesman from the lender of last resort said.
