- Final election results are expected by the end of Sunday.
- Polls have become a referendum on the president's austerity measures.
- Dissanayaka has vowed to renegotiate the unpopular IMF deal.
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Marxist politician Anura Kumara Dissanayaka took an early lead in Saturday's presidential election during the counting of postal votes, official results showed.
Dissanayaka won 60.21% of the 164,000 votes counted, out of a total of just over 700,000. Public officials involved in the election are entitled to cast their ballots, which are the first to be counted.
Some 76% of the 17.1 million voters cast ballots on Saturday, with final results expected later on Sunday.
The election has become a referendum on current President Ranil Wickremesinghe's austerity measures, implemented under a $2.9 billion bailout loan he secured from the IMF early last year.
Dissanayaka, 55, had promised to renegotiate the unpopular IMF deal under which Wickremesinghe had doubled income taxes, eliminated energy subsidies and raised prices.
Initial results showed opposition leader Sajith Premadasa getting 19.98%, almost tied with Wickremesinghe who got 18.59%.
If elected, Dissanayaka will be Sri Lanka's first Marxist head of state. Authorities declared an eight-hour nighttime curfew across the country while the results were announced by manual recounts, as Sri Lanka does not have electronic voting.
Wickremesinghe is seeking a new term to press ahead with his austerity measures after taking credit for stabilising the economy following a crushing national debt default in 2022.
