Lanka's JVP names Dissanayake as presidential candidate

Sri Lanka's Marxist party JVP on Sunday named Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the presidential candidate of its broader political front National People’s Power (NPP). The presidential elections in Sri Lanka are to be held later this year.

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brother Gotabhaya was named as the main opposition challenger last week. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was a part of the coalition of incumbent president Maithripala Sirisena when he was elected in 2015 after defeating Rajapaksa.

Dissanayake becomes only the third presidential candidate in JVP's history since 1960s. Dissanayake’s candidature and the backing he is expected to garner from the civil society towards the new alliance NPP would severely affect the electoral chances of the United National Party (UNP)-led alliance which is yet to be formed, experts feel.

The incumbent prime minister and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the parliamentary speaker Karu Jayasuriya both want to be the presidential candidates from the UNP.