Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
– Photo: PTI
Expansion
The ruling National People's Power Party (NPP) led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is headed for a landslide victory in the Sri Lankan parliamentary election held on Thursday. Earlier, voting ended at 4 pm local time. According to the results declared till 11 pm local time, NPP has secured 70 percent of the votes. The main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) got 11 percent votes and the National Democratic Front (NDF) supported by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe got only 5 percent votes.
Analysts expressed this possibility
Analysts say the NPP has increased its vote share compared to the presidential election held in September. If this trend continues, the party will cross the 150-seat mark and get an absolute majority in the 225-member Parliament. Let us tell you that after the economic crisis of 2022, parliamentary elections have been held for the first time in Sri Lanka.
Voting was conducted peacefully
More than 17 million citizens of Sri Lanka, with a population of 21 million, were eligible to vote to elect the 225-member Parliament for a five-year term. About 90,000 police and army personnel were deployed for security. Barring a few minor incidents of false propaganda, there were no reports of violence and the elections were overall conducted peacefully.
Fate of 8,800 candidates will be decided
In this election, 1.71 crore voters have chosen their choice from 8,800 candidates, the results of which can be declared on Friday. At the same time, veteran leaders like former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa have decided to stay out of the electoral contest.
President Dissanayake hopes for a strong majority
Election observers estimate that the ruling NPP will get a simple majority of 113 seats. At the same time, after voting in Colombo, Dissanayake expressed confidence that his party will get majority, although he said that absolute majority is not necessary. He stressed that his government's proposed laws would be in the interest of common citizens and would get wide support in Parliament. Dissanayake expressed his commitment to unify Sri Lanka and said his government's aim is to win the trust of people from all regions, including the Tamil-dominated northern region.
