 "A police officer checks the voter slip of a woman as she arrives to vote on the day of the parliamentary election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 14, 2024. Source: Reuters.")
Sri Lankans began voting on Thursday in snap parliamentary elections which is very crucial for the newly elected Marxist-leaning president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who aims to secure a majority in parliament to put forward his policies to revive the island nation from its financial crisis.
Dissanayake, 55, took charge after securing victory in the September 21 presidential elections. His victory came on a promise to combat graft, recover Sri Lanka’s stolen assets and vows to bolster a fragile economic recovery.
Also, his win signalled discontentment among people with the island nation’s traditional political parties which have led the governments since Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948.
Why is polling being held in Sri Lanka again?
Dissanayake dissolved parliament on September 24 to clear the way for the general election. The snap polls as being held on Thursday (November 14) Dissanayake failed to secure more than 50 per cent of votes.
Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) coalition had just three of 225 seats in parliament, prompting him to dissolve the legislature and seek a fresh mandate there for his policies.
In the snap election, Dissanayake hopes to win two-thirds of the legislature’s 225 seats to press ahead with reforms after the country’s economic meltdown in 2022, when then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted.
Dissanayake’s party will have to increase its votes significantly — from the 42 per cent won in the presidential election — to acquire a minimum of 113 seats to take control of the 225-member Sri Lanka parliament.
Who is Dissanayke’s NPP main challenger?
The main challenger for Dissanayake’s NPP is Sajith Premadasa, who came in second in the presidential election and his Samagi Jana Balawegaya or United People’s Power party.
Sri Lanka election result
Voting in Sri Lanka began at 7 am local time and will continue till 4 pm, with counting expected to start soon after.
The Election Commission of Sri Lanka will formally begin announcing the winning party, likely on Friday.
A cabinet is expected to be formed immediately afterwards and the new parliament will convene on November 21 to elect a speaker.
Dissanayake will also present a throne speech outlining his key policy priorities to the new parliament on the same day.
How Sri Lanka votes
Voters in Sri Lanka 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. A voter can cast up to three preferential votes for candidates contesting from their party of choice.
A voter can cast up to three preferential votes for candidates contesting from their party of choice.
Sri Lanka now has 17.1 million eligible voters of which about 1 million are first-time voters.
Number of eligible voters
Sri Lanka has 17.1 million eligible voters out of which about 1 million are first-time voters.
Voting began on Thursday at 7 am local time and will continue till 4 pm, soon after which the counting will start.
Also Read: Sri Lanka holds snap polls today: What’s at stake?
With inputs from agencies.