Sri Lanka holds snap polls today: What's at stake?

Sri Lanka’s new President has called for a snap general election today.

Anura Dissanayake, 55, who took power in September on the back of public anger over the island’s 2022 economic meltdown, dissolved parliament on September 24, clearing the way for the general election.

Here’s everything you need to know about the election process and the candidates.

Snap election and the process

The snap election today (November 14) is necessary as Dissanayake had just three lawmakers in the outgoing parliament, whose five-year term was due to end in August 2025, and needed a fresh mandate to push his policies.

Campaigning ended at midnight on Monday, 48 hours before election day.

There are 17.1 million eligible voters in the neighbouring country, with approximately one million of them casting their first votes.

A proportional representation method is used to directly elect 196 members of parliament from 22 seats.

The remaining 29 seats will be allocated according to the island-wide proportional vote obtained by each party. Voters have the option to cast up to three preferential votes for candidates from their preferred party.

Votes are cast at thousands of polling stations amid tight security. Following polling, they will be counted by government workers under the supervision of Election Commission officials, election observers, and candidate representatives.

Voting begins at 7 am local time (0130 GMT) and ends at 4 pm (1030 GMT), with counting scheduled to start shortly after.

The Election Commission will formally announce the winning party, likely on Friday. Following that, a government is anticipated to be formed immediately, and on November 21, the new parliament will meet to choose a speaker.

President Dissanayake will also present a throne speech outlining his key policy priorities to the new parliament on the same day.

Parties in fray

In this election, President Dissanayake aims to secure a majority in parliament to back his policies in the island nation struggling to recover from a crushing financial crisis.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), the opposition party of Sajith Premadasa, is anticipated to be the primary rival of the NPP, along with the New Democratic Front (NDF), a faction that broke away from the Rajapaksa family’s party and is supported by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

SJB and other parties, such as the United National Party (UNP) and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), are struggling to remain relevant and persuade voters to overlook them for their corrupt past.

Dissanayake eyes for return to power

The country’s largest and most influential private sector trade and industry body is backing Dissanayake.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and the island nation’s president have stated that their plans for economic recovery align with the socialist goals of his People’s Liberation Front (JVP).

After leading armed uprisings in 1971 and 1987 that claimed almost 80,000 lives, the JVP has subsequently entered mainstream politics as part of a coalition with professional organisations known as the National People’s Power (NPP).

Under Dissanayake, business leaders have speculated that the nation may adopt the economic patterns of China or Vietnam.

“In the first term (of Dissanayake), I would say that they will be far better than Vietnam in terms of having a full democratic setup”, said Imran Furkan, from the Australia-based geopolitical risk analysis firm Tresync, adding, “Democracy is deeply rooted in Sri Lanka, unlike in Vietnam, which has been communist for a long time.”

In accordance with a $2.9 billion IMF bailout, Furkan predicted that Dissanayake’s party would easily win Thursday’s parliamentary elections and then implement reforms, including unpopular austerity measures started by his right-wing predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Dissanayake, by allowing the debt deal agreed by Wickremesinghe to move forward, has won the confidence of both local and foreign investors that he will not reverse the reforms, Furkan said.

Since Dissanayake’s victory, the All Share Price Index at the Colombo Stock Exchange has gained 16.65 per cent, underscoring positive investor sentiment.

Additionally, he has remained close to India , its enormous neighbour, and China, the nation’s biggest bilateral lender

CCC chief Duminda Hulangamuwa is not only backing the new administration’s plans but has also accepted an honorary position as Dissanayake’s economic adviser.

Hulangamuwa told reporters last week that Dissanayake wanted to push ahead with the IMF bailout, which requires reforms to loss-making state-owned enterprises as well as the elimination of subsidies and tax holidays.

Dissanayake’s policy is to implement reforms and then bring about macro stability, Hulangamuwa said, adding the president wanted “growth in a more inclusive manner.”

Economic crisis

Ex-president Wickremesinghe was voted out of office after doubling income taxes and imposing other reviled austerity measures.

His policies ended the shortages of essentials such as food, fuel and medicines, along with runaway inflation, and returned the country to growth, but left millions struggling to make ends meet.

The IMF has stated that Wickremesinghe’s administration made significant progress in repairing the nation’s ruined finances after a $46 billion foreign debt default in 2022.

The IMF is due to send another mission to Colombo on the day of the polls to review progress, after declaring that Sri Lanka was “not out of the woods yet.”

Hotel sector executive Anura Lokuhetty said a stable government was needed.

“Now that we have a president from the NPP, the parliament should support the system to carry on a good environment for business,” Lokuhetty told AFP.

Lawyer Shanthini Walgama said Dissanayake’s coalition offered the best promise of tackling endemic corruption.

“In this election, it is all about progress over stagnation, unity over division, honesty over corruption,” she told AFP.

With inputs from agencies