Sri Lanka president expects 'strong majority' after snap poll

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake was confident of a victory as polls closed in snap legislative elections on Nov 14.

Mr Dissanayake took power in September presidential elections on a promise to combat graft and recover the country’s stolen assets, two years after an unprecedented economic meltdown, when then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted.

On Nov 14, the 55-year-old said he expected “a strong majority” in parliament to press ahead with his platform.

“We believe that this is a crucial election that will mark a turning point in Sri Lanka,” Mr Dissanayake told reporters after casting his ballot in a polling station in the capital.

“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 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 the presidential polls, when nearly 80 per cent 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 Gankandage, 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.”

Mr 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 Mr 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 Mr Dissanayake needed more time to deliver his promises.

“Some things have started to change... but you can’t expect immediately,” the 52-year-old told AFP.

There were 8,880 candidates vying for the parliament’s 225 seats. Voting closed at 6.30pm (Singapore time).

Despite previous promises to renegotiate a controversial US$2.9 billion (S$3.91 billion) International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout secured by his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mr Dissanayake has chosen to maintain the agreement with the international lender.

The country’s main private sector lobby, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), is tacitly supporting Mr Dissanayake and his programme.

“Continuing reforms... could encourage both investor confidence and fiscal discipline, setting a foundation for sustainable growth,” CCC secretary Bhuwanekabahu Perera told AFP.

An IMF delegation is due in Colombo on Nov 14 to review economic progress before releasing the next US$330 million tranche of the bailout loan.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who had campaigned to take part in a coalition government, vowed in his final campaign rally to “put pressure” on Mr Dissanayake to honour promised tax cuts.

Poll monitors and analysts said the Nov 14 election had failed to generate the level of enthusiasm – or violence – seen at previous polls.

“The opposition is dead,” political analyst Kusal Perera said. “The result of the election is a foregone conclusion.”

The outgoing parliament was dominated by the party of Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa and Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa, two brothers from a powerful political clan who have both served as president, but it has since splintered.

Neither brother is contesting, but Mr Mahinda’s son Namal, a former sports minister, is seeking re-election.

Private sector executive Damayantha Perera, 49, said he knew the outcome of the election on Nov 14 would favour Mr Dissanayake’s NPP, and he voted for a party that was not tipped to win.

“I voted according to my conscience,” he said. AFP