Sri Lanka’s current ruling coalition, the National People’s Power (NPP), is set to win the country’s general election.
This shows the result of the preliminary count from the country’s electoral commission, according to Reuters on Friday.
The coalition is headed by the newly elected president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
– There has been a change in Sri Lanka’s political culture which began in September and which needs to continue, Dissanayake said after casting his vote on Thursday.
– We see this as an important turning point for Sri Lanka. We expect to be mandated to form a strong parliament and we are sure that the people will support us.
Under the NPP is Dissanayake’s party, Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP), which is described by the Reuters and AFP news agencies as having “Marxist tendencies”.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa’s party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya, which is the main opponent of Dissanayake’s coalition, has secured 13 seats and about 19 percent of the vote.
Dissanayake beat former president Ranil Wickremesinghe in the September presidential election. Wickremesinghe was vilified for his tough austerity measures that were supposed to help the country through a major economic crisis.
Among other things, Dissanayake’s coalition went to the election to alleviate the poverty that the economic crisis has triggered.
The crisis comes, among other things, from the aftermath of the corona crisis, where tourism was destroyed, but also from the war in Ukraine, which has worsened inflation.
Sri Lanka typically supports the president in parliamentary elections – especially if held shortly after the presidential election.
The president holds executive power, but Dissanayake still needs a majority in parliament to appoint a government and deliver on his promises to cut taxes, support local businesses and fight poverty.
There are 22 million people living in Sri Lanka.
/ritzau/
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
