Sri Lankan leftist leader sworn in after landslide election win

Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake waves as he leaves from the election commission office after winning Sri Lankan presidential election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Sri Lanka's first leftist president was sworn into office Monday vowing to restore public faith in politics after anger over the island nation's unprecedented economic crisis propelled him to a landslide poll win.

Self-avowed Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayaka of the People's Liberation Front (JVP) took his oath at the colonial-era Presidential Secretariat in Colombo after trouncing his nearest rivals in Saturday's vote.

The previously fringe politician — whose party led two failed uprisings that left tens of thousands dead — saw a surge of support after the country's 2022 economic meltdown forced painful hardships on ordinary Sri Lankans.

Dissanayaka, 55, was sworn in by the chief justice in a ceremony attended by lawmakers, members of the Buddhist clergy and the military who sang the national anthem after the ceremony.

"I will do my best to fully restore the people's confidence in politicians," Dissanayaka said after taking the oath.

"I am not a conjurer, I am not a magician," he added. "There are things I know and things I don't know, but I will seek the best advice and do my best. For that, I need the support of everyone."

Dissanayaka succeeds outgoing president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office at the peak of the financial crisis following the government's first-ever foreign debt default and months of punishing food, fuel and medicine shortages.

Wickremesinghe, 75, imposed steep tax hikes and other austerity measures per the terms of an International Monetary Fund bailout.

His...