Mr Dissanayake won about 53 per cent of a million votes counted so far in the election. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Sri Lanka's Marxist-leaning leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, grabbed a commanding early lead on Sunday in his bid to become the next president of the debt-ridden country seeking to elect a leader to bolster its fragile economic recovery.

Voting ends in Sri Lanka's presidential election as it seeks to recover from economic crisis and political upheaval