COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake leads early official results in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, according to tallies released on Sunday by the Election Commission, but he is still short of the 50% needed for victory.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s strong showing reveals voter weariness with leadership that has led to a national economic crisis and crushing hardship for many people.

Sri Lanka's Marxist-leaning leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, grabbed a commanding early lead on Sunday in his bid to become the next president of the debt-ridden country seeking to elect a leader to bolster its fragile economic recovery.

Vote counting is underway in Sri Lanka’s presidential election as it seeks to recover from the worst economic crisis and political upheaval. Saturday's election, contested by 38 candidates, was largel

Mr. Wickremesinghe, 75, a six-time former prime minister, is a political survivor. His elevation to the presidency in 2022, after the overthrow of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, plucked him out of irrelevance and demonstrated his formidable bargaining powers.

Sri Lankans are voting in a presidential election that will determine the course of the country’s recovery from its worst economic crisis and resulting political upheaval.

Election officials carry ballot boxes a day before the presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sept. 20, 2024. Sri Lanka's presidential election will take place on Sept. 21 with over 17 million registered voters to elect the South Asian country's president for the next five years.

A previously fringe Marxist politician was on course Sunday to become Sri Lanka's next leader after a presidential vote coloured by discontent over the island nation's response to an unprecedented financial crisis.