Sri Lanka's new Marxist leader wins huge majority

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake shows off ink-stained finger after voting

(Image credit: Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

The party of Sri Lanka's newly elected Marxist-leaning president won a two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections Thursday, the country's election commission said today. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's National People's Power (NPP) coalition won 159 of the legislature's 225 seats, up from three in the previous parliament.

Who said what

Dissanayake's "thumping victory" will give him enough votes to "push through his plans to fight poverty and graft in the island nation recovering from a financial meltdown," Reuters said. The "unprecedented vote for change," in a "country dominated by family parties for decades," included "surprise backing" from political strongholds of the ethnic Tamil minority. The party of the Rajapaksa dynasty, which had 145 seats in the outgoing parliament, "was virtually wiped out, winning just three seats."

The two-thirds parliamentary majority "will enable Dissanayake to carry out sweeping reforms," The Associated Press said, including enacting a "new constitution which he promised during the presidential campaign, without having to rely on other parties."

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What next?

Dissanayake's NPP coalition "will now be under massive pressure to perform and live up to their campaign promises," the BBC said, including renegotiating the country's IMF loan, reforming its "political culture" and pushing "members of past administrations for corruption." The new government was "also expected to face a talent challenge," Reuters said, as the "coalition has few leaders with governance and policy-making experience."

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.