evidence: The recent election in Sri Lanka, the first since the 2022 economic collapse, marked a historic milestone for the island nation. Left-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake pipped centrist Sajith Premadasa after a close contest. The 55-year-old's Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), was part of the National People’s Power (NPP) alliance comprising 21 groups including political parties, trade unions, and civil society collectives. [...] When the votes were counted on Sunday, September 22, local media reports said Dissanayake secured 42.31% of votes, while Sajith Premadasa got 32.76% votes. Since both of them failed to get the required 50%, the preferential votes were counted. Since the margin of difference was nearly 10 lakh votes, JVP claimed victory, while several members from the opposition camp conceded defeat. However, SJB leader Sujeewa Senasinghe alleged that the election officials were partial towards the NPP. "Counting of preferential votes began without official representatives. This is illegal," he said. Ranil Wickremesinghe [...] The JVP chief was one of the leaders in the 2022 Janatha Aragalaya (the People’s Struggle) protests against the Rajapaksas. While Premadasa’s support base among young and working-class Sinhala voters was believed to be strong, Dissanayake’s campaign of "clean governance", criticism of the state of health, education and transport sectors, seems to have resonated with a section of Sri Lankans.