Sri Lanka’s leftist ruling coalition headed for landslide election win

Sri Lankan president’s National People’s Power wins 62 percent of nan vote, early results show.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leftist conjugation is connected way for a landslide triumph successful threat elections, delivering nan Marxist-leaning leader a powerful instruction to easiness punishing austerity measures successful nan crisis-stricken nation.

With good complete half of nan ballots counted connected Friday morning, Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) was acold up of nan guidance confederation Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) pinch 63 percent of nan vote, according to early results from nan country’s Election Commission.

The NPP had taken 97 seats successful nan 225-member parliament, compared pinch 26 seats for nan SBJ, and was starring successful each but 1 of 22 electoral districts, according to nan results.

Voter turnout successful Thursday’s ballot was astir 65 percent, according to nan predetermination commission, little than successful September’s statesmanlike predetermination erstwhile astir 80 percent of eligible voters formed a ballot.

Dissanayake won September’s statesmanlike canvass riding a activity of celebrated discontent pinch austerity measures imposed by his predecessor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, arsenic a portion of a bailout woody pinch nan International Monetary Fund (IMF).

With his conjugation holding conscionable 3 seats successful nan outgoing parliament, nan 55-year-old leader of Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) called threat legislative elections successful hunt of a caller mandate.

Dissanayake had projected assurance up of nan vote, telling section media connected Thursday that he expected a “strong majority” successful parliament.

“We judge that this is simply a important predetermination that will people a turning constituent successful Sri Lanka,” Dissanayake told reporters aft voting astatine a polling position successful nan capital.

“There is simply a alteration successful Sri Lanka’s governmental civilization that started successful September, which must continue.”

Dissanayake, whose JVP spearheaded a bloody equipped revolt against nan authorities during nan 1970s and 1980s, has pledged to conflict corruption and activity “alternative means” to statement up nan South Asian nation’s finances that enforce little of a load connected nan poor.

While Dissanayake heavy criticised nan IMF woody during his statesmanlike campaign, he has much precocious expressed wide statement pinch its objectives while emphasising nan value of taking attraction of Sri Lankans who are struggling.

Sri Lanka has been struggling to retrieve from its worst economical situation since independency successful 1948 pursuing economical mismanagement by successive governments, nan COVID-19 pandemic and 2019 Easter bombings.

In 2022, then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to resign aft tens of thousands of Sri Lankans took to nan streets to protestation sky-high ostentation and substance and nutrient shortages.

Rajapaksa’s replacement Wickremesinghe, who vanished 3rd successful September’s statesmanlike election, oversaw a stabilising of nan economy, but his government’s efforts to raise revenue, including by raising energy bills and income taxes, proved unpopular pinch nan public.

Source

:

Al Jazeera and news agencies