Marxist lawmaker Anura Dissanayake elected president in Sri Lanka says victory 'belongs to all'

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00:00Marxist candidate Anura Kumara Desanyake has won the Sri Lankan presidency, riding a wave

00:07of public fury as the nation hopes to recover from the most serious economic crisis in its

00:12history.

00:14As people were voting on Saturday, Desanyake was already predicting an upset.

00:19ANURA KUMARA DESANYAKE, Marxist Candidate People are voting enthusiastically.

00:24After the victory, I urge everyone to remain peaceful.

00:28A sign of democracy is that everyone has the right to advocate for any political party

00:33and the right to vote for anyone.

00:35We should protect that right.

00:38After the victory, there should be no clashes, no violence.

00:42Our country needs a new political culture.

00:47It's a remarkable turnaround for his half-century-old leftist National People's Power Party, which

00:53had long been on the margins.

00:56In the 2019 presidential election, he secured only 3 percent of the vote.

01:02Desanyake has pledged to ease the country's drastic austerity measures to abate a massive

01:07rise in poverty.

01:09Poverty now affects a quarter of the population.

01:13The current government increased income taxes and cut public spending, in exchange for 2.6

01:19billion euros in aid from the International Monetary Fund.

01:23Desanyake has promised to renegotiate the deal.

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