In the presidential election held on September 21, 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidency by receiving 5,740,179 votes, or 42.3 percent. He will go down in history as the president who failed to secure 50 percent of the valid votes cast in the presidential elections since 1982. In this presidential election, Anura Kumara was able to win 14 of the country’s 22 districts, while Sajith Premadasa won 8 districts. According to the parliamentary seat results released, Anura was able to win 106 seats, while Sajith won 48 seats, indicating that there is no majority mandate.
Anura Kumara’s victory is one outcome of the struggle that took place in 2022, which ousted then-President Gotabaya with the slogan “Gota Go Home.” This struggle popularized the idea of sweeping away the corrupt capitalist families that had plunged Sri Lanka into the most serious crisis in its history. The struggle not only got rid of the president but also sent all 225 Members of Parliament home.
The people’s struggle was an expression of the aspirations of the public against the destruction caused by neoliberalism. However, there are serious contradictions between the policies of Anura Kumara’s National People’s Power and the policies demanded by the people’s struggle. The aspirations of that struggle will not bear fruit under the government of the National People’s Power. Nevertheless, another important factor highlighted by this election result is that the people are now rejecting the old traditional capitalist politics.
The Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, the main force behind the NPP) has repeatedly asserted in the past that it stands for socialist policies. They made promise after promise, surpassing the commitments of other capitalist candidates. But very soon, the people will come to understand that the government formed by Anura is not capable of fulfilling the promises made to the people. It raises serious questions about whether Anura’s government will be able to at least bring punishment to the politicians who committed corruption and theft. Will they recover the stolen money? While Anura may have a short honeymoon period of a few months, he will ultimately fail to move beyond capitalist measures to implement even basic socio-economic reforms that the country demands.
It is no secret that Anura Kumara has made agreements with imperialist forces to continue the neoliberal agenda, including deals with the IMF and the World Bank. During negotiations with the main capitalist business community during the elections, he openly promised that the IMF program would continue. In Anura Kumara’s own words, he stated that he is ready to “walk the rest of the ropeway that Ranil Wickramasinghe started with the IMF.” Ranil Wickramasinghe announced after his defeat that he would hand over the responsibilities to the new president, Anura Kumara, to cross the rest of the bridge. Anura Kumara is going to rule the country to serve the needs of the International Monetary Fund, against the wishes of the people who put him in power.
Anura Kumara has come to power by presenting a huge series of promises to the people, and when he fails to fulfill those promises, the mass anger of the people will erupt in a significant way against his rule. In such an environment, the oppressed people, including the working class, are bound to engage in class struggle to win their demands. It is the responsibility of the trade union movement and the true left to provide leadership.
The United Socialist Party presented a series of clear solutions to the socio-economic and political crisis facing the country in the last presidential election. The USP advanced demands such as non-repayment of debt, full nationalization of key sectors such as banks and insurance under democratic workers’ control, stopping the process of selling local resources to neoliberal capitalists, and resolving the national question based on the right to self-determination. Additionally, employers’ provident funds should be controlled by trade unions and workers. A series of proposals were made, including the immediate abolishment of the executive presidency and the establishment of a workers’ government to implement a socialist plan.
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the voters who chose us. We received 8,954 votes, approving the program presented by the United Socialist Party. It should be specially mentioned that we extend our warm greetings for the good response received from the people of the north, where we received 1,221 votes, and the response from the people of the east is equally encouraging, with 710 votes. We also request that you join hands with us to face the deep crisis that is about to emerge and build a serious fight back for the forces of socialism.
