Anura Kumara Dissanayake offered his broad leftist coalition as the best hope for a different political culture, one not ruled by nepotism and corruption.

Dissanayake’s win dealt a blow to a political old guard that has been widely blamed for the unprecedented economic crisis that hit the South Asian island nation two years ago.

Under normal circumstances, the victory of Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Sri Lanka's presidential election would have been called a political earthquake. But with many having labelled the left-leaning politician as a strong frontrunner in the run-up to the poll,