Sri Lanka’s leftist candidate won a tightly contested presidential election, with voters sweeping out the incumbent for the economic pain they’ve endured in the two years since the country was plunged into crisis.

Sri Lankans have chosen Anura Kumara Dissanayake as their new president, trusting in his anti-corruption stance and economic recovery plans following the nation's severe financial crisis. Dissanayake defeated incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.

Sri Lanka's Marxist-leaning leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, grabbed a commanding early lead on Sunday in his bid to become the next president of the debt-ridden country seeking to elect a leader to bolster its fragile economic recovery.