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 head of the Marxist-leaning National People’s Power coalition, defeated opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and 36 other candidates in Saturday’s election. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Dissanayake received 5,740,179 votes, followed by Premadasa with 4,530,902. In a brief speech, the new president pledged to work with others to take on the country’s challenges. “We have deeply understood that we are going to get a challenging country,” Dissanayake said.