Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake elected Sri Lanka's new president
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Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the 55-year-old leader of the People's Liberation Front alliance (JVP), has won Sri Lanka's presidential election. In the first round, no candidate received more than 50% of the total votes, with Dissanayake receiving 42.31% and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa getting 32.76%. However, Dissanayake emerged as the winner in the second count, which tallied voters' second and third choices. He knocked out incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Premadasa to become Sri Lanka's 10th president.