Sri Lanka's Dissanayake a strong contender for president with his alliance's focus on working class

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A political alliance centered on the working class has emerged as a strong contender in Sri Lanka's presidential race, announcing itself to be the agent of change that millions of people called for when an unprecedented economic crisis led to disillusionment with traditional political parties.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of National People's Power alliance and its presidential candidate, says he's serving those who were part of public protests that ousted then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022. Protesters blamed Rajapaksa for an economic collapse that resulted in severe shortage of essentials such as fuel, cooking gas, medicines and food.

“The people of our country have a great expectation for a change” Dissanayake told The Associated Press. “They wanted a change and we are the agents of that change. All the other candidates are the agents of the old, failed, traditional system.”

Unsustainable debt, poorly timed tax cuts, ill-planned import bans, economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government’s insistence on spending scarce foreign reserves to prop up the country’s currency, the rupee, led to the economic collapse in 2022.

Hundreds of thousands held street protests and took control of vital buildings such as the president's office and prime minister's office. Rajapaksa fled from his official residence minutes before irate protesters stormed in. He later fled overseas and resigned.

Current President Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected by a majority vote from Rajapaksa backers in Parliament to cover the remainder of the term. Critics say the Rajapaksa family, many of whom held different posts in the government before the ouster, received Wickremesinghe's protection in return for their support for laws passed by him through Parliament. People were angry about corruption, nepotism and economic mismanagement that the powerful family fostered.

Dissanayake says the people's wishes for a change were not realized because the protesters did not have a plan beyond ousting the president and weren't equipped to take charge. Wickremesinghe sent police to disperse them soon after he took charge.

Wickremesinghe negotiated a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund. In the two years since, inflation dropped from 70% to around 5% under his administration. Interest rates came down, the rupee rebounded and foreign currency reserves have increased. Creditor countries such as India, Japan and France have agreed to defer debt repayments until 2028, giving the island nation space to rebuild its economy.

But professionals and businesses complain of higher taxes, and all people are affected by the high cost of living. The system overhaul people expected has not been realized and critics say economic recovery means little under a corrupt system with no accountability.

Dissanayake says his administration can be the change people want: a sound economy in a corruption-free society.

NPP is a political movement made up of 21 different groups including political parties, youth groups, women’s groups, trade unions and other civil society groups. Dissanayake’s original party is the People’s Liberation Front, which is the key force behind the NPP coalition.

Dissanayake says despite his party's long-held policy of nationalizing the country's resources, they accept economic freedom and foreign trade. He plans to uphold the agreement with the IMF while his administration negotiates changes to ease the burden on the public.

“We can’t come out from the existing IMF program because we entered into the IMF program only after the country was financially collapsed. We believe there could have been another alternative. But now all the bilateral and multi-lateral agreements have been placed inside the IMF basket,” Dissanayake said.

“More attention should be paid to the hardships faced by the people when moving forward with the IMF program,” he said.

Dissanayake said that his administration will not seek to punish anyone accused of human rights violations and war crimes during Sri Lanka's brutal 26-year civil war.

He said he would instead focus on investigating alleged human rights violations and seeking an agreement with the victims’ families, he said. Both government troops and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels were accused of grave human rights violations during the war that led to the United Nations human rights council calling for investigations and prosecutions.

“On the question of accountability, it should not be in a way to take revenge, not in a way to accuse someone, but only to find out the truth,” Dissanayake said. “Even the victims do not expect anyone to be punished. They only want to know what happened.”

The People’s Liberation Front — which has waged two bloody insurrections to take over the government in a socialist revolution in 1971 and 1987-89 that killed tens of thousands — backed a military solution to the civil war that ended in 2009.

Whichever candidate wins the presidency will have an intricate geopolitical balance to maintain between China and India, both of which hold Sri Lankan debt and are vying for control in the region. While China is economically secure, Sri Lanka is physically closer to India.

Dissanayake says his government will handle the geopolitical rivalry with utmost care.

Sri Lanka's presidential election will take place Sept. 21. A record 39 candidates were approved to run, though one candidate died since.

Wickremesinghe is also running, largely on public approval for his economic reform plan.

The more reliable opinion polls have, until recently, put Dissanayake at a significant lead over his main rivals, said political analyst Jehan Perera. “Regardless of their accuracy, AKD is a viable candidate to win the presidency,” he said, referring to Dissanayake by his initials.

“Those who want change above all will prefer to vote for AKD as he has the least connections with the business and political elites who have been running the country," he added.