SRI LANKA: YEAR OF CHANGE, MANY HILLS TO CLIMB

The administration has failed to ease the economic burden in a tangible way, and the public continues to reel under the skyrocketing cost of living. People pin hopes on a systemic overhaul

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Exactly a year ago, Sri Lankans wrote political history by decisively bringing traditional two-party politics to an end by elevating a party that was not expected to rule.

Their radical choice: Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a neo-leftist and leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front).

For the JVP, it had not been a cakewalk. For decades, it has struggled to overcome a debilitating three percent vote, which permanently confined them to the opposition ranks. Despite radical appeal, political power had continuously eluded them until Sri Lanka hit an economic nadir in 2022. A simmering governance crisis, combined with an economic crisis, provided a potent formula for seismic political change, and Dissanayake soon emerged as a beacon of hope for a nation tired of corrupt regimes and family rule.

Despite his popularity Dissanayake's meteoric rise was the culmination of the 2022 'Aragalaya' protest movement, which forced the then President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign amid massive public protests. Opinion polls showed Dissanayake as the country's most trusted politician at the time, as public sentiment strongly opposed the traditional ruling class amidst allegations of largescale corruption, kleptocracy, nepotism, and a mismanaged financial crisis.

Despite the political upheaval, Sri Lankans also demonstrated political prudence and patience by holding elec tions and by ensuring a smooth transition of power. When selecting a successor, JVP's own violent history and the responsibility of two uprisings in the South did not deter voters from electing Dissanayake as their president.

A year on, public expectations remain high, and Dissanayake and his government's delivery remains a mixed bag.