Category: Breaking News

The National People’s Power (NPP) party led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has secured a landslide victory in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections, winning a two-thirds majority. This result has significant implications for Sri Lanka’s political landscape and future governance:

Constitutional Reforms: With a two-thirds majority, the NPP now has the power to amend the constitution13. This is particularly important as President Dissanayake has pledged to dismantle the executive presidency, a system that has been criticized for centralizing power.

Executive Presidency Abolition: The NPP can now move forward with its plan to abolish the executive presidency, which has been a contentious issue in Sri Lankan politics for decades.

Anti-Corruption Measures: The NPP campaigned on a strong anti-corruption platform. With a supermajority, they can now implement sweeping reforms to combat corruption and increase transparency in governance.

Economic Reforms: The NPP has promised to reverse austerity measures linked to the IMF bailout negotiated by the previous administration. They now have the parliamentary support to enact their economic agenda.

Judicial Independence: The two-thirds majority allows the NPP to introduce constitutional reforms that further guarantee the independence of the judiciary3
Provincial Councils Review: The NPP can now initiate a review of the Provincial Councils system, potentially streamlining governance while preserving regional autonomy.

Mandate for Change: This overwhelming victory represents a strong mandate from the Sri Lankan people for the NPP’s reformist agenda, reflecting a desire for substantial change in the country’s political system.

Reduced Opposition: The main opposition parties, including the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the National Democratic Front (NDF), have been significantly weakened, with their parliamentary presence greatly reduced.

Generational Shift: This election result signifies a major intergenerational transfer of political leadership in Sri Lanka, with many established politicians from the old order withdrawing from the contest.

International Relations: The NPP’s strong mandate may lead to shifts in Sri Lanka’s foreign policy and international relationships, particularly in how it approaches economic partnerships and diplomatic ties.

However, it’s important to note that while a two-thirds majority gives the NPP significant power, it also comes with great responsibility. The party will need to use this mandate judiciously to implement reforms that benefit the country while maintaining democratic checks and balances.

Sri Lanka’s National People’s Power will not mis-use a two third majority given by voters to carry out its program, Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the main party behind the political group said.

“We have understood the weight of responsibility of this victory,” Silva told reporters in Colombo after the landslide win.

“That trust we have to protect. We have got 159 votes, exceeding two thirds. There was opinion in society that there should not be two thirds. Actually, we did not seek it.

“But people have given it. So we have a responsibility to handle this excessive power very carefully.

“Because our leaders have mis-used it in the past to put down the people. They were drunk with power. We will not become bloated with the power. We will be very careful and be responsible.”

There were many challenges ahead of the government, he said.

“We will use the mandate given by the people, not to protect power,” Silva said. “We will use it to rebuild the country, built democracy and end corruption. We know the weight of responsibility.

“We have taken a fallen country. Due to debt we had to have an agreement with the IMF.

“We have to end rural poverty. We have to have a clean, Sri lanka. We have to revive a fallen economy and help people to live with dignity. We will use this mandate for that.”

The people in the North, East and the hill country have joined hands with NPP thinking like one nation, he said.

It by defeating, traditional, strong political parties who have reigned for 70 years this victory was bestowed on us. The old, elitist, the hegemonic era (prabhoo, adipathyawadi) has been ended. The power of our country has ended it.

The era where rulers took on an aura of elitism and used public funds and priviledges had ended, he said.

“Now the politics of the general public has come. I think this is a great victory,” Silva said. “On the other side, it has defeated nationalism. There were attempts to ethnic and religious division. The, politics where leaders depended on ethnic and religious extremism has ended.

“For many years, elections were won on nationalism. The Rajapaksa won on Sinhala Bhuddhist nationalism. Other used Tamil and Muslim nationalism. All those parties have been rejected.

Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, the Prime Ministerial candidate from the National People’s Power (NPP) for the 2024 general election, has emerged as the top candidate in the Colombo district, securing over 655,289 preferential votes.

This vote count marks a historic record as the highest number of preferential votes ever received by a single parliamentary candidate in Sri Lanka’s election history.

Previously, the candidate with the highest number of preferential votes was Mahinda Rajapaksa, who contested from the Kurunegala District in the 2020 general election, receiving 527,364 votes.

Sri Lanka’s National People’s Power of President Anura Dissanayake has swept the 2024 parliamentary elections raking in a two thirds majority winning 159 out of 225 seats in the assembly.

The NPP painted the island winning across ethnicities and religious groups and made history wining the Northern Jaffna district.

Link to detailed results here.

Since the preferential votes started under the current constitution, no single party on its own has been able to get such a majority.

Sri Lanka’s Samagi Jana Balawegaya headed by Sajith Premadasa was a distant second with 40 seats, in a poll with the lowest turnout since 2010.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress got 3.

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi got 8 seats, the New Democratic Front backed by ex-President Ranil Wickremesinghe got 5. United National Party separately got 1.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna won 3.

The Sarvajana Balaya, Democratic Tamil National Alliance, All Ceylon Tamil Congress, All Ceylon Makkal Congress, Jaffna – Independent Group 17 and the Sri Lanka Labour Party won one seat each.

Soon after casting his vote, President Dissanayake said he expected a strong mandate but did not need a two third majority to govern as they had no plans to bring laws against the people.

“The NPP expects a strong mandate for the parliament,” he said after casting his vote in Colombo. “We are confident that the people will give it to us. A strong parliament is sufficient for us.

“The laws and bills that we bring will be beneficial for the people. So, no one in the parliament can go against them.

“If we make laws to benefit the people a thirds vote can be obtained. Always a two thirds majority (of members) is expected to pass laws against the people. Other political movements have used the two thirds majority to formulate laws against the people.”

Among the campaign promises given by the NPP is to abolish the executive presidency which requires a two thirds majority and a referendum.

Sri Lanka went to polls amid a stabilization crisis after a currency collapse from aggressive macro-economic policy involving rate cuts enforced with aggressive liquidity operations on top of tax cuts.

Among the unpopular measures imposed under the IMF program was high personal income taxes which impoverished middle class wage earners by taking away earnings before they were spent.

The NPP hopes to negotiate down some of the taxes in talks to the IMF next week.

Over 17 million Sri Lankans will have the chance to vote for the country’s tenth Parliament election weeks after Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election after a historic second round of counting.

This snap election, called by the new President, is expected to have significant ramifications for the nation’s political gridlock, particularly as the National People’s Power (NPP) party led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, which currently holds only three seats, seeks to establish itself as the dominant political force.

A total of 17,140,354 Sri Lankans are eligible to vote in this year’s Parliamentary Election, with the Gampaha District registering the highest number of voters with 1,881,129.

Colombo District is second with 1,765,351 registered voters, and Kurunegala District has 1,417,226 voters. The Northern Province has a combined total of 899,268 registered voters.

However, during the 2024 Presidential Poll held on 21 September 2024, over 3.5 million citizens who were eligible to vote, had not casted their votes during 2024 Presidential Election. Out of 17,140,354 registered voters, a total of 13,619,916 had cast their votes in the Presidential Election which is 79.46%, while 3,520,438 (21.54%) did not vote.

The voting will take place at polling stations established across the island from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. today (14).

Eligible voters are required to carry one of nine accepted forms of identification to cast their vote:

1. National Identity Card (NIC)

2. Valid Passport

3. Valid Driving License

4. Public Service Retirement ID

5. Elders Identity Card

6. ID Cards provided to clergy

7. Confirmation letter of NIC information

8. Temporary ID card issued by the Election Commission for disabled persons

9. Temporary ID card issued by the Election Commission for others

Unlike during usual elections, voters will have their left hand’s index finger, instead of the little finger, marked with an appropriate sign to prevent double voting and ensure transparency during 2024 Parliamentary Poll. This decision comes in light of concerns about possible confusion during the polling process for the Presidential Election 2024, which took place recently.

Meanwhile, if a voter’s left index finger is unavailable, the mark will be applied to another finger, as suitable, according to the Election Commission.

The Election Commission has also issued guidelines on the proper voting and preference-marking procedure.

Each voter has one vote, which can be cast for a recognized political party or an independent group. To do so, an ‘x’ mark should be placed in front of the chosen political party’s symbol or in the space before the number and symbol of the independent group.

Additionally, voters may express their preference for up to three candidates nominated by the selected party or group by placing an ‘x’ in the space containing the number assigned to each candidate at the end of the ballot paper.

The Election Commission clarified that any ballot showing votes for multiple political parties or independent groups, or containing identifiable marks other than the specified ‘x,’ will be considered invalid. Meanwhile, only an ‘x’ mark should be used for both voting and indicating candidate preferences, as per the election regulatory body.

Additionally, the Election Commission has announced guidelines regarding leave for public and private sector employees to allow them to vote. The guidelines are as follows:

• Half-day leave if the polling station is within 40 km of the workplace.

• One day’s leave if the distance is between 40 and 100 km.

• One and a half days’ leave for distances between 100 and 150 km.

• Two days’ leave for distances exceeding 150 km.

The postal voting for the General Election commenced on October 30, and continued on November 1 and 4 where more than 700,000 of the registered voters had qualified for the advance voting process.

Through this election, a total of 225 Members of Parliament will be elected, comprising 196 members elected by public vote and 29 members entering through the national list.

Each electoral district has been allocated a designated number of seats, with Gampaha District receiving the highest number of parliamentary seats at 19 and a bonus seat, while Trincomalee District has been allocated the lowest number, with 4 seats.

The political party or independent group securing the highest number of votes in the district is entitled to have one member declared elected to the Bonus seat. The remaining number of members is declared elected on the basis of the proportion of votes obtained by the political party or the independent group.

In terms of section 99 (6) (a) of the Constitution, a recognised political party or independent group polling less than 5 percent of the total votes polled within the district is disqualified and the balance valid votes are reckoned for allocation of seats on the basis of the proportional computation.

Dissanayake won the presidential election in September with 42.3% of the vote. Sri Lankans ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022 after the economy tipped into its worst crisis under his watch. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had been appointed prime minister only two months earlier, took over as interim president.

A record 38 contenders vied for Sri Lanka’s presidency. For the first time in the country’s history, election officials counted the second-preference votes after no candidate secured 50 percent. After a historic first of second round of counting, the country of Sri Lanka has elecetd a new president — Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The 55-year-old fended off competition from opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, while current President, Ranil Wikremesinghe trailed in third.

Just after the polling ended, the Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake described the 2024 Presidential Election as the best in the nation’s electoral history, emphasizing that the election process was notably peaceful, with no reports of violence during the polling period.

Dissanayake dissolved parliament soon after his voctory and called for elections to consolidate power so that he could enact crucial laws.

Soon after the General Election date was declared, former President Wickremesinghe, along with many senior political figures, announced that he will not contest the general election. The Rajapaksa family has similarly opted out. This leaves Sajith Premadasa’s SJB as the main challenger to the NPP.

The election watchdogs described the pre-election period of this year’s General Election as ‘more peaceful’ with the lowest number of instances of public resource misuse and public property violations, while present, have not reached critical levels.

The Executive Director of the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Rohana Hettiarachchi earlier stated that despite 8,888 candidates vying for positions in this year’s General Election, fewer than 1,000 were actively campaigning, reflecting a notable decline in political engagement.

Looking toward the election date, the Supreme Court has dismissed challenges against the election date, paving the way for what could be one of the most contentious and transformative elections in Sri Lanka’s history.

The inaugural session of the Tenth Parliament, comprising of members elected through this process, is scheduled to commence on November 21, as per the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2403/13 dated 2024.09.24 issued by the President, according to the Parliamentary Communications Department.