Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leftist coalition won a thumping victory in a snap general election, gaining the power to push through his plans to fight poverty and graft in the island nation recovering from a financial meltdown.
The sweeping mandate, which included surprise backing from the north and east of the country which is home to the minority Tamil people, is an unprecedented vote for change and indicates that Sri Lanka is in sync on moving ahead, analysts said.
Dissanayake promises to try and tweak the terms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue program that bailed the country out of its economic crisis.
The new government is also expected to face a talent challenge as the coalition has few leaders with governance and policy-making experience.
Dissanayake, a political outsider in a country dominated by family parties for decades, comfortably won the island’s presidential election in September.
But his coalition had just three seats in parliament, prompting him to dissolve it and seek a fresh mandate in Thursday’s snap election.
Sri Lanka typically backs the president’s party in general elections, especially if voting is held soon after a presidential vote.
