The left-leaning coalition of National People’s Power swept the parliamentary polls in Sri Lanka on Thursday rising from the fringes as it bagged 107 of the 225 parliamentary seats from the earlier mere three-seat-share.
The NPP’s win comes just months after its chief Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a political outsider in a country dominated by dynast politics for decades, clinched the country’s top post in September.
The snap polls were called by Dissanayake after he dissolved the parliament and sought a fresh mandate owing to the meagre seat share.
The NPP won 107 seats, receiving almost 62 per cent or 6.8 million votes in the Thursday polls, putting them past the majority mark in the parliament, as per the latest results on the Election Commission of Sri Lanka’s website.
196 lawmakers are directly elected by people from 22 constituencies to the parliament under a proportional representation system. The remaining 29 seats are filled according to the island-wide proportional vote obtained by each party.
Dissanayake called the polls a “critical point” for Sri Lanka. “We expect a mandate to form a strong parliament, and we are confident the people will give us this mandate,” he said after casting his vote on Thursday, reported Reuters.
“There is a change in Sri Lanka’s political culture that started in September, which must continue,” he added.
Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya party, led by Sajith Premadasa, NPP’s main contender won 28 seats and about 18 per cent of the votes. The New Democratic Front, backed by previous President Ranil Wickremesinghe, won just three seats.
The Friday mandate follows convention in the island nation as Sri Lanka typically backs the president’s party in general elections, especially if the voting is held soon after the presidential vote.
While the president wields executive power, Dissanayake would still require a parliamentary majority to appoint a full-fledged cabinet and deliver on key promises to cut taxes, support local businesses, and fight poverty.
