Sri Lanka president expects ‘strong majority’ after snap poll

“At this election, the NPP expects a mandate for a very strong majority in parliament,” he said referring to the National People’s Power coalition in which his JVP, or the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) is the main constituent. Police said the nine-hour voting period passed without any incidents of violence, unlike most ballots of recent years, but three election workers including a police constable had died due to illness while on duty. Voter turnout figures were not immediately available but election officials said participation appeared to be less than presidential polls, when nearly 80 percent of Sri Lanka’s eligible voters cast a ballot.

“I expect a new country, a new government that is friendly towards the people,” 70-year old pensioner Milton Gankand- age, who was among the first to vote in Colombo’s Wellawatte district, told AFP. “Previous rulers deceived us. We need a new set of rulers who will develop the country.”

Dissanayake had been an MP for nearly 25 years and was briefly an agriculture minister but his NPP coalition held just three seats in the outgoing assembly. He stormed to the presidency after successfully distancing himself from establishment politicians blamed for steering the country to its worst economic crisis in 2022. His JVP party led two insurrections in 1971 and 1987, leading to at least 80,000 deaths, but Dissanayake was sworn in after an election described as one of the island nation’s most peaceful. University academic Sivalogadasan, who goes by one name, said Dissanayake needed more time to deliver his promises.