Leftist candidate wins Sri Lanka presidential election

A left-leaning politician has won Sri Lanka's presidential election. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the leftist party National People's Power, beat out his rival in a second round of counting.The Election Commission said Dissanayake won 5.74 million votes to Premadasa's 4.53 million.

The key issue was the austerity measures introduced by the incumbent president after the country defaulted in 2022.Dissanayake has said he will renegotiate the IMF deal to ease the burden on ordinary people. The election results could affect a debt restructuring deal led by Japan and other countries.