Sri Lankan president’s coalition wins big majority in general election

COLOMBO – Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leftist coalition won a thumping victory in a snap general election, gaining power to push through his plans to fight poverty and graft in the island nation recovering from a financial meltdown.

The sweeping mandate, which included surprise backing from the north and east of the country which is home to the minority Tamil people, is an unprecedented vote for change and indicates that Sri Lanka is in sync on moving ahead, analysts said.

While the strong showing will strengthen political stability in the South Asian country, some uncertainty on policy direction remains due to Dissanayake’s promises to try and tweak terms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue programme that bailed the country out of its economic crisis, they said.

The new government is also expected to face a talent challenge as the coalition has few leaders with governance and policy-making experience.

Dissanayake, a political outsider in a country dominated by family parties for decades, comfortably won the island’s “presidential election” in September.

But his coalition had just three seats in parliament, prompting him to dissolve it and seek a fresh mandate in Thursday’s snap election. Sri Lanka typically backs the president’s party in general elections, especially if voting is held soon after a presidential vote.

“The president has a huge mandate now to carry through the reforms but also huge expectations from the people,” said Bhavani Fonseka, a researcher at Colombo think tank Centre for Policy Alternatives. “People are looking beyond the issues of the past … people want to see a direct impact on the cost of living,” she said.