Sri Lanka’s leftist leader turns from bullets to ballots

Sri Lanka’s presidential hopeful Anura Kumara Dissanayaka wants a peaceful revolution after his Marxist party failed to seize power in two uprisings that left more than 80,000 people dead.

The 55-year-old son of a laborer has emerged as a serious contender in the presidential polls on Sept. 21, after forming a coalition with professionals frustrated with long-established politicians.

Dissanayaka blames successive governments — both socialist and right-wing capitalist — for the corruption, nepotism and inefficiency that led to the island’s economic meltdown in 2022.