Sri Lanka president eyes parliament win in snap election

Sri Lankans were voting in snap parliamentary elections Thursday, with new leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's party expected to secure a mandate to drive through economic reforms.

The 55-year-old hopes to grab two-thirds of the legislature's 225 seats to press ahead with reforms after the country's economic meltdown two years ago, when then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted.

Dissanayake took power after sweeping September elections on a promise to combat graft and recover the country's stolen assets.

"I expect a new country, a new government that is friendly towards the people," said 70-year-old pensioner Milton Gankandage, who was among the first to vote in Colombo's Wellawatte district.

"Previous rulers deceived us. We need a new set of rulers who will develop the country."

Dissanayake's JVP, or the People's Liberation Front, is the main constituent of the National People's Power (NPP) coalition of professionals seeking to form the next government.

The NPP held just three seats in the outgoing assembly.

Dissanayake had been an MP for nearly 25 years and was briefly an agriculture minister.

But he has distanced himself from traditional politicians accused of leading 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 Dissanayake took power peacefully in elections on September 21.

University academic Sivalogadasan, who goes by one name, said 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.

- 'Foregone conclusion' -

Some 17.1 million people are choosing between 8,800 candidates after a campaign that election monitors say was peaceful.

Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said they were using drones for the first time to monitor an election, with 80,000 police officers deployed. Voting closes at 4:00 pm (1030 GMT).

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

The country's main private sector lobby, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, is tacitly supporting Dissanayake and expects him to press ahead with reforms.

"Continuing reforms... could encourage both investor confidence and fiscal discipline, setting a foundation for sustainable growth," CCC Secretary Bhuwanekabahu Perera told AFP ahead of voting.

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

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who had campaigned to take part in a coalition government, vowed in his final campaign rally that he would "put pressure" on Dissanayake to honour promises of tax cuts.

Poll monitors and analysts note that Thursday's 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 former president Mahinda Rajapaksa -- the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), or the People's Front -- but it has since splintered.

Rajapaksa is not contesting, but his son Namal, a former sports minister, is seeking re-election.

But private sector executive Damayantha Perera, 49, said he had still voted for a party that was not tipped to win.

"I voted according to my conscience," he said.

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