AKD after 228 days and histrionics of the opposition

Just over eight months or 228 days ago, after failing to be elected after the first round of counting, President Dissanayake was declared the winner of the presidential poll by the Commissioner of Elections. Since then, he has successfully campaigned for and won for the National People's Power (NPP), the parliamentary elections by a two-thirds majority and the local government elections.

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At the time of his assuming power Dissanayake faced a plethora of problems. The country's economy is still not stable. Lanka is dependent on a four billion dollar line of credit extended by India and an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement courtesy a US$ 3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement of March 2023, which propped up Lanka's credit worthiness.

The IMF facility is aimed at supporting Lanka's efforts to restore macro-economic stability and debt sustainability. But it came at a price -the terms of the IMF facility placed unbearable burdens on economically deprived sections of the community, for example the cutting of government subsidies which adversely impacted poorer sections of the community.