Dissanayake leads early official vote count in Sri Lanka’s presidential election

Leader and the presidential candidate of National People’s Power Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrives at a polling station to cast his vote in Colombo (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)

Marxist-leaning politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake leads early official results in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, according to tallies released on Sunday by the Election Commission.

However, he is still short of the 50% needed for victory.