Sri Lanka's leftist coalition wins landslide victory, eyes sweeping reforms

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leftist coalition, the National People’s Power (NPP), secured a decisive victory in Thursday’s snap general election, winning 137 of the 196 directly elected seats. Local media project that the total will surpass 150 seats once proportional representation is factored in, giving Dissanayake a commanding two-thirds majority in the 225-member parliament.

This victory gives Dissanayake the power to push through his reform agenda, including plans to abolish the executive presidency. In total, the NPP secured almost 62% of the vote, or around 7 million ballots, up from 42% in the presidential election held in September. Dissanayake, a political outsider, is now poised to reshape Sri Lanka’s political landscape, having built strong support among minorities and the wider electorate.
While the clear mandate strengthens political stability, there is some uncertainty over Dissanayake’s economic policies, especially his intention to alter the terms of Sri Lanka’s $2.9 billion IMF bailout. The IMF deal has been crucial to the country’s tentative economic recovery following the 2022 crisis, which saw Sri Lanka default on its debt and its economy contract by 7.3% in 2022 and 2.3% in 2023.