Sri Lanka's President Expects Strong Majority After Snap Poll

Muhammad Irfan Published November 14, 2024 | 04:50 PM

Colombo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2024) Sri Lanka's new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake was confident of a victory as polls closed in Thursday's snap legislative elections.

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 Thursday, 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," Dissanayake told reporters after casting his ballot 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 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 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.