Sri Lankans delivered a decisive victory to Anura Kumara Dissanayake in a snap general election, strengthening the mandate of the country's new leftist president. This win grants him greater legislative power to implement policies aimed at reducing poverty and combating corruption as Sri Lanka recovers from its financial crisis.
Dissanayake, a political outsider in a country dominated by family parties for decades, comfortably won the island’s in September.
But his Marxist-leaning coalition, the National People’s Power (NPP), had just three of parliament’s 225 seats before Thursday’s election, prompting him to dissolve it and seek a fresh mandate.
The NPP won 107 seats, receiving almost 62% or 6.8 million votes in Thursday’s election, putting them past the majority mark in the parliament, latest results on the Election Commission of Sri Lanka’s website showed. A two-thirds majority appeared within reach of the coalition.
Voters directly elect 196 members to parliament from 22 constituencies under a proportional representation system. The remaining 29 seats will be allocated according to the island-wide proportional vote obtained by each party.
“We see this as a critical turning point for Sri Lanka. We expect a mandate to form a strong parliament, and we are confident the people will give us this mandate”, Dissanayake said after casting his vote.
“There is a change in Sri Lanka’s political culture that started in September, which must continue”.
Celebrations were largely muted, except a few NPP loyalists who lit fireworks in the outskirts of the capital, Colombo.
Just over 17 million Sri Lankans were eligible to elect lawmakers for a five-year term. A record 690 political parties and independent groups were contesting across 22 electoral districts.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya party of opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, the main challenger to Dissanayake’s coalition, won 28 seats and about 18% of the votes polled. The New Democratic Front, backed by previous President Ranil Wickremesinghe, won just three seats.
Sri Lanka typically backs the president's party in general elections, especially if voting is held soon after a presidential vote. The president wields executive power but Dissanayake still requires a parliamentary majority to appoint a fully-fledged cabinet and deliver on key promises to cut taxes, support local businesses, and fight poverty.
He also intends to abolish Sri Lanka's controversial executive presidency, although he needs a two-thirds majority in parliament to make this change. With a population of 22 million, Sri Lanka was devastated by an economic crisis in 2022, triggered by a severe foreign currency shortage that led to a sovereign default. The crisis caused the economy to contract by 7.3% in 2022 and 2.3% in the following year.
Boosted by a $2.9 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economy has begun a tentative recovery, but the high cost of living is still a critical issue for many, especially the poor.
Dissanayake also plans to adjust the income tax targets set by the IMF to free up funds for welfare programs aimed at helping the millions most affected by the crisis. However, investors are concerned that his intention to renegotiate the terms of the IMF bailout could delay future disbursements, potentially hindering Sri Lanka’s ability to achieve a crucial primary surplus target of 2.3% of GDP by 2025, as set by the IMF.