Sri Lanka: Rajapaksa alliance wins two-third majority in parliamentary election

Sri Lanka’s ruling Rajapaksa alliance has won a two-thirds majority in the parliamentary election, according to official results released on Friday, August 7.

As per international media reports, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party secured 146 seats. On the other hand, his allies won at least five seats to give him and his brother Gotabaya, who is also Sri Lanka’s President, the supermajority required for constitutional changes in the 225-member legislature. 

Sri Lanka successfully conducted the parliamentary elections on Wednesday. More than 16 million people were eligible to vote to elect 196 lawmakers, with the rest being named from a national list according to the number of votes received by each party or independent group. 

READ: PM Modi Congratulates Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa Over Successful Conduct Of Polls

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SLPP set to form new government 

While at least four members of the Rajapaksa family were running in the election, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa was poised to stage a political comeback as his party took an early lead. Meanwhile, before the counting of votes began, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party founder and its National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa expressed confidence in the party's victory. 

According to reports, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to amend the Constitution to restore presidential powers curbed by a 2015 constitutional change. While the president is not a candidate, care-taker PM Mahinda Rajapaksa was running from the northwestern capital district of Kurunegala. 

PM Modi Congratulates Mahinda Rajapaksa 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dialed his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa late on Thursday and congratulated him on the successful conduct of parliamentary elections a day earlier. PM Modi commended the government and electoral institutions of Sri Lanka for effectively organising elections despite constraints of the Coronavirus pandemic.

PM Modi appreciated the Sri Lankan people for their enthusiastic participation in the elections, and said that this reflected the strong democratic values shared by both countries, a statement from the MEA said. 

(Image Credits: PTI)

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