Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition National People’s Power, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has marked a historic victory in the snap parliamentary polls securing at least 123 seats of the 225 member house.
On Thursday, President Anura casted his ballot and showed confidence about his coalition winning with strong majority against the establishment parties.
People have went against the establishment politicians as they were linked to the country’s 2022 economic crisis.
Preliminary results indicate that the opposition coalition led by Sajith Premadasa secured roughly 62% of the votes counted while its rival party trails behind with just 18%.
What Opinion polls predicted?
The opinion polls before the election reflected strong support for Dissanayake’s stance against corruption. His party got a majority in Jaffna, which is a change for Tamil society in the area.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, popular among citizens for hailing from working-class background, is going to play this decisive mandate to propel his reform-focused agenda forward.
Dissanayake has appealed to investors by promising to stick to the current International Monetary Fund bailout, to revive his country’s economy.
His election marks a turning point in Sri Lankan politics, gaining both local and private sector backing during a largely peaceful election process.
This is the first time that a single party has achieved such a majority under the Proportional Representation system.
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