Sri Lanka's leftist coalition, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People's Party (NPP), has achieved a historic victory, securing a two-thirds majority in Parliament. This marks the first time a single party has accomplished such a feat under the Proportional Representation system. Provisional results from Friday's snap parliamentary elections revealed the NPP's commanding lead, solidifying their position in the country's political landscape.
The NPP coalition has won at least 123 seats in Sri Lanka's 225-member parliament, securing approximately 62 percent of the vote in the ballots counted so far, according to data from the election commission. This victory cements their commanding position in the country's political arena.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who broke away from Sri Lanka's traditionally dynasty-dominated political landscape, achieved a decisive victory in last September's presidential election. Leading the Marxist-oriented National People's Power (NPP), Dissanayake's coalition previously held only three seats in the 225-member parliament. This prompted him to dissolve the assembly and call for snap elections, which ultimately resulted in the NPP's historic victory.
In Sri Lanka's parliamentary system, 196 out of the total 225 seats were contested under the proportional representative electoral system, which allocates seats within each district based on the parties' vote share. The remaining 29 seats, known as national list seats, are distributed to parties and independent groups according to their overall share of votes across the country.