Sri Lanka’s Marxist-leaning president appoints Cabinet after election win

Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s new Marxist-leaning president has sworn in a 22-member Cabinet after his party secured a two-thirds parliamentary majority in last week’s election. The margin of victory will allow President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to make sweeping reforms, including a campaign promise of a new constitution, without needing support from other parties. Sri Lanka is struggling to emerge from the worst economic crisis in its history, having declared bankruptcy after defaulting on its external debt in 2022. He kept a pledge to have fewer than 25 Cabinet members, and a majority of the new ministers are first-time lawmakers. He also reappointed Harini Amarasuriya as prime minister.