A new renaissance dawns upon Sri Lanka! With your visionary leadership, we stand on the cusp of a profound transformation—a rebirth of justice, equality, and opportunity for all. This is more than just a political shift; it’s a renewal of the spirit of our nation, a revival of hope, progress, and unity.
The power that was once held by Conservative elites has now been handed to the people, and this renaissance calls upon all Sri Lankans to rise and build a future where freedom and prosperity are more abundant for generations to come.
The 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election was the ninth presidential election and was held on 21 September 2024. 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. 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.
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. The following day, Dissanayake was declared the winner, winning 55.89% of the vote in the second round. He was inaugurated on 23 September.
The election signified a major political realignment in Sri Lanka. 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.
The last direct presidential elections held in Sri Lanka were in 2019, Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the election in a landslide victory, defeating his main opponent Sajith Premadasa.
Rajapaksa resigned on 14 July 2022 during the 2022 Sri Lankan protests. This triggered an indirect presidential election via Parliament a week later, to elect a successor according to the Article 40 of the Constitution. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had been appointed as Prime Minister by Rajapaksa just two months earlier, received the most votes and was sworn in as the 9th President of Sri Lanka on 21 July 2022.
Article 40 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka states that “Any person so succeeding to the office of President shall hold office only for the unexpired period of the term of office of the President vacating office. President Wickremesinghe’s term is due to expire on 17 November 2024.
Discussion surrounding the 2024 election had been a major topic since the beginning of the year. The Election Commission stated that the election had to be held between 17 September and 16 October, as required by the Constitution. On 26 July, the Election Commission issued a Gazette notification declaring that the election would be held on 21 September 2024, with nominations for candidates to be submitted by 15 August. The commission chose to hold the election, stating that this would help ensure a high voter turnout. On the same day, Ranil Wickremesinghe announced his candidacy for a second term as president, running as an independent candidate. Approximately 17 million people were eligible to vote in this election.