COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka's president on Monday after an election that saw voters reject an old guard accused of leading the country into economic crisis.

Dissanayake, 55, who ran as the leader of the Marxist-leaning National People's Power coalition, defeated opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and 36 other candidates in Saturday's election .

Dissanayake garnered 5,740,179 votes, followed by Premadasa with 4,530,902.

The election took place as the nation strives to recover from its worst economic crisis and the ensuing political turmoil.

He's the ninth individual to hold Sri Lanka's powerful executive presidency, established in 1978 when a new constitution expanded the office's authority.

Dissanayake's coalition is led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, or People’s Liberation Front, a Marxist party that launched two unsuccessful armed rebellions in the 1970s and 1980s to seize power through socialist revolution. After its defeat, the JVP transitioned to democratic politics in 1994 and has primarily remained in opposition since. However, they have occasionally supported previous presidents and participated in governments for brief periods.

The NPP also includes groups representing academics, civil society organizations, artists, lawyers and students.

Dissanayake began his political career in 2000, serving a brief term as agriculture and irrigation minister under President Chandrika Kumaratunga. He first competed for the presidency in 2019, ultimately losing to Rajapaksa, who was removed from office two years later due to the economic crisis.

That economic crisis stemmed from excessive borrowing to fund projects that did not generate revenue, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government’s insistence on using scarce foreign reserves to bolster its currency, the rupee.