Sri Lanka's President and National People's Power party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake gestures as he leaves after casting his vote on the day of the parliamentary election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Nov 14, 2024. COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake retained the key finance minister portfolio and reappointed Harini Amarasuriya as prime minister on Monday as the Indian Ocean island nation targets stronger recovery from a draining financial crisis.
The new parliament will meet on Thursday to elect a speaker and Dissanayake will present his key policy priorities to the newly minted lawmakers. The president will have to present an interim budget in the next few weeks, as well as find ways to reduce taxes and increase welfare, which were his key election pledges, without derailing the IMF programme.
A political outsider in a country dominated by family parties for decades, Dissanayake comfortably won the island's presidential election in September.