Sri Lanka elected its first left-wing president on September 21. Anura Kumara Dissanayake received 42 percent of votes cast, in the first test of public opinion since the island state of twenty-two million people became bankrupt in 2022.

The leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, People’s Liberation Front) and its National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, who is popularly known as “AKD,” now sits where a popular uprising two years ago drove out Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the mid-term point in his presidency. To right-wing surprise, the Colombo stock exchange rallied following declaration of the result.

It was not the landslide that AKD’s supporters had insisted was on its way, falling short of the 50 percent plus one vote needed for a first-round victory. His election to the presidency came after the distribution of second-preference votes from the eliminated candidates, confirming AKD’s clear lead over his nearest rival, former leader of the opposition Sajith Premadasa.