evidence: This victory belongs to all of us," Dissanayake said in a post on X. Outgoing President Wickremesinghe in a video statement congratulated Dissanayake and said he hoped he will carry forward the economic recovery efforts successfully. The election was a virtual referendum on Wickremesinghe’s leadership, including restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt under an International Monetary Fund bailout after it defaulted in 2022. Dissanayake, 55, had said he would renegotiate the IMF deal to make austerity measures more bearable. Wickremesinghe had warned that any move to alter the basics of the agreement could delay the release of a fourth tranche of nearly $3 billion that is crucial to maintaining stability. "I successfully completed the responsibility that history put on my shoulders. I was able to rescue my motherland from bankruptcy within short period pf two years," Wickremesinghe said. Under Wickremesinghe, inflation has dropped and foreign reserves and the local currency have strengthened. A 2 percent economic growth is predicted this year after a 7 percent contraction in 2022. But Sri Lankans are still struggling with high taxes and living costs. "Throughout our lives, we have undergone a lot of hardships and our children are also suffering now.