Amarasuriya reappointed as Sri Lanka's prime minister

Harini Amarasuriya was reappointed as Sri Lanka's prime minister by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Dissanayake also appointed Vijitha Herath as foreign minister after his coalition won 159 seats in the general election. Despite strong, concerns remain over implementing IMF-backed reform.

Harini Amarasuriya has been reappointed as Sri Lanka's prime minister by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday.

The president also recalled veteran legislator, Vijitha Herath, to oversee the foreign affairs ministry of the Indian Ocean Island after his leftist coalition won 159 seats in the 225-member parliament in general election.

Despite the appointments made during Monday’s sweating-in ceremony, Dissanayake did not name a new finance minister, raising suggestions that he may keep the finance portfolio as he did in September following the victorious presidential election.

Dissanayake, who is regarded as a political outsider, surpassed expectations by winning the presidential election in September rather comfortably in a country dominated for decades by family parties. Naming Amarasuriya as prime minister and picking Herath to helm foreign affairs has been seen as a welcomed political move.

However, he’s had to make further decisive moves by dissolving his Marxist-leaning National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, which had just three seats in the parliament, to seek fresh mandate in last Thursday’s snap election.

Sustaining the policy guaranteed an overwhelming mandate in the general elections, handing Dissanayake legislative power to enforce his plans to reduce poverty and lift the island nation from financial meltdown.

For two years, Sri Lanka has been battling economic crisis brought by severe shortage of foreign currency. This forced the nation of 22 million people into a sovereign default, leading to a 7.3% shrink in its economy in 2022 and 2.3% last year.

Despite the strong mandate and show of support in the South Asian country, which will strengthen its political stability, there are still concerns about Dissanayake's campaign promises. Analysts say there are uncertainties in the plan to implement policies aimed at meeting the terms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue programme that bailed the country out of its economic crisis.

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