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| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Sri Lanka |
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| Part of a series on the |
| Aragalaya |
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| Background |
| Economic crisis (2019–present) |
| Political crisis (2022–present) |
| Legacy |
The 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election was the ninth presidential election in the country’s history and was held on 21 September 2024.[3][4] Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe ran for re-election as an independent candidate, making him the first sitting president to run for re-election since Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015.[5][6][7] Other prominent candidates included Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the NPP, and Namal Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.[8]
The election was a three-way contest between Wickremesinghe, Premadasa and Dissanayake. The first vote count concluded with no candidate winning a majority. Dissanayake won a plurality of the vote with 42.31%, followed by Premadasa with 32.76%. Incumbent president Wickremesinghe finished third, winning only 17.27% of the vote. Since no candidate won a majority, a second round of vote counting was held for the first time in Sri Lanka's history under its limited ranked voting system.[9] The following day, Dissanayake was declared the winner, winning 55.89% of the vote in the second round.[10][11] He was inaugurated on 23 September.
The election signified a major political realignment in Sri Lanka.[12] Dissanayake's victory was the first time a third-party candidate was elected president. This was also the first election where neither of the top two candidates were endorsed by the United National Party or the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
IFESwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
EC-PER2024was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Sri Lanka presidential election set for September 21 amid ailing economy". Al Jazeera. 26 July 2024. Archived from the original on 23 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "Sri Lanka to hold presidential election on Sept. 21". Nikkei Asia. 26 July 2024. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Husain, Jamila (8 April 2023). "Ranil to contest Presidential election, hints at poll early next year". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
AD-26.07.2024was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "President Ranil Wickremesinghe officially announces candidacy for Sri Lankan presidency". Deccan Herald. PTI. 27 July 2024. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Waravita, Pamodi (21 September 2024). "The Incumbent, the Marxist and the Heir: Sri Lanka's Tight Race for President". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ^ "Sri Lanka election result: Counting goes to historic second round". www.bbc.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
- ^ "Presidential Election – 2024" (PDF). The Gazette Extraordinary. Department of Government Printing. 22 September 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
- ^ "Anura Kumara Dissanayake: Left-leaning leader wins Sri Lanka election". www.bbc.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
- ^ DeVotta, Neil (28 August 2024). "Sri Lanka's Potential Political Realignment". South Asian Voices. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).