Sri Lanka’s leftist chief turns from bullets to ballots

Colombo –
Sri Lanka’s presidential hopeful Anura Kumara Dissanayaka needs a peaceable revolution after his Marxist party did not seize energy in two uprisings that left greater than 80,000 folks dead.

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

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