Sri Lanka parliamentary election: Ruling NPP coalition wins majority in polls
Sri Lanka parliamentary polls.
The rulingNational People's Power (NPP) coalition in Sri Lanka won a majority in Thursday's (Nov 14) parliamentary election, the news agency AFP reported on Friday citing the provisional results.
The NPP coalition wonat least 159 seats in the 225-member assembly -- exceeding a two-thirds majority."Thank you to all who voted for a renaissance," Sri Lankan PresidentAnura Kumara Dissanayakesaid in a brief statement on social media platform X.
The coalition had a monumental 61.5 per cent of the vote while opposition leader Sajith Premadasa's party was well behind with only 17.6 per cent, AFP reported.
NPP leading in almost every constituency
A total of 8,880 candidates were vying for Parliament's 225 seats. Voting closed after nine hours on Thursday. AFP reported that voter turnout was estimated at under 70 per cent, less than that in the September presidential election wherenearly 80 per cent of Sri Lanka's eligible voters cast a ballot.
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The initial results (of the parliamentary election) had revealed that the NPP was comfortably leading in almost every constituency in the 225-member house.
The NPP had only three seats in the outgoing Parliament.
The police said on Thursday that voting happened without any incidents of violence,unlike most ballots of recent years. However, three election workers died due to illness while on duty.
'A crucial election'
Addressing a press conference in Colombo, PresidentDissanayake said,"We believe that this is a crucial election that will mark a turning point in Sri Lanka."
Also watch | Sri Lanka's Race to Power: Ruling NPP heads for landslide victory in parliamentary polls
"At this election, the NPP expects a mandate for a very strong majority in parliament," he said referring to the coalition party in which his JVP, or People's Liberation Front, (JVP) which isthe main constituent.
Dissanayake won the September presidential election on apromise to combat graft and recover the country's stolen assets, two years following an unprecedented economic meltdown when then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted.
(With inputs from agencies)