Police commandos stand guard, as a countrywide curfew was imposed then, outside a ballot counting center during the presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake was leading Sri Lanka's presidential election after knocking out the incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe from the race, as officials on Sunday began a second round of vote counting for the first time in the nation's history.
Dissanayake, whose pro-working class and anti-political elite campaigning made him popular among youth, was leading with 39% of the votes counted, followed by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa with 34%, according to tallies released by the Election Commission.