For subscribers

A birthday message for Sri Lanka’s new President: Don’t squander your mandate

The Nov 14 polls swept away the entrenched political elite, giving President Dissanayake a much freer hand to put his battered country on the road to recovery.

Sri Lanka's President and National People's Power party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake gestures as he leaves after casting his vote on Nov 14.

Sri Lanka's President and National People's Power party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake after casting his vote on Nov 14.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Ravi Velloor

Follow topic:

Most new governments take office with the weight of public expectations hanging heavy over them. In that regard, the expectations of

Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake

and his leftist-oriented National People’s Power (NPP) movement are particularly onerous.

After a decisive outcome in the

September presidential polls

, Mr Dissanayake swiftly ordered parliamentary elections, seeking a clear mandate for NPP, which was at the forefront of the 2022 uprising that toppled then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Sri Lankans responded to the call.

A birthday message for Sri Lanka’s new President: Don’t squander your mandate

Follow topic:

See more on