evidence: If Sri Lankans rally behind Dissanayake and the NPP at the forthcoming general elections, then the IMF may need to listen – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara 21 September was a day of many firsts in Sri Lanka. Millions of people went to the polls to vote in the first Presidential elections since mass protests forced the country’s last elected president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, from office in 2022. 1, 2 [...] A count of the second-choice votes revealed the biggest shock in decades. In Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lankans for the first time elected a candidate who does not belong to the two major parties that have dominated the country’s politics since independence in 1948.3 Dissanayake leads the National People’s Power alliance (NPP), which includes his Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) – a party known for its leftwing policies.