Sri Lanka’s newly elected Marxist-leaning President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has secured a parliamentary majority, according to the official election results announced on Friday. This victory grants him a robust mandate to implement his economic revival agenda.
Dissanayake’s National People’s Power Party (NPP) captured at least 123 of the 225 parliamentary seats, based on partial results from the Elections Commission.
The opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (United People’s Power Party), led by Sajith Premedasa, obtained 31 seats.
Dissanayake was elected president on September 21, signaling a rejection of the traditional political parties that have governed Sri Lanka since its independence from Britain in 1948. Despite winning only 42% of the presidential vote, which raised questions about his party’s prospects in the parliamentary elections, the NPP saw a significant surge in support within two months of his presidency.
In a surprising development and a substantial shift in the electoral landscape, the NPP won the Jaffna district, a key area for ethnic Tamils in the north, along with several other minority-dominated regions.
The success in Jaffna represents a significant blow to the traditional ethnic Tamil parties that have been predominant in northern politics since independence. It also marks a notable change in the attitudes of Tamils, who have historically been wary of the majority Sinhalese leadership. Ethnic Tamil rebels fought a civil war from 1983 to 2009, seeking a separate homeland due to perceived marginalization by Sinhalese-dominated governments.
Conservative estimates by the United Nations indicate that over 100,000 people were killed during the conflict.
Out of the 225 parliamentary seats, 196 are contested under Sri Lanka’s proportional representation system, which distributes seats in each district according to the parties’ share of the vote.
The remaining 29 seats, known as national list seats, are assigned to parties and independent groups based on their overall vote percentage across the country.
Frances Ibiefo
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