Sri Lanka voted in a snap general election on Thursday. As of writing this article, the election results of the island nation which had witnessed a massive turbulent phase in 2022, were declared on Friday, wherein new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's coalition, got the majority of votes. Dissanayake's coalition, the National People's Party (NPP) had just three seats in the previous parliament but scored a landslide victory in the latest general election, winning a two-thirds majority in the 225-member house.
Here are the key steps in the process in which 17.1 million Sri Lankans were eligible to elect lawmakers to the 225-member parliament for a five-year term:
Why did Dissanayake call snap elections?
Dissanayake dissolved parliament on September 24 to clear the way for the general election, days after the Marxist-leaning leader was elected president on a platform for change. The election became crucial as Dissanayake had just three lawmakers in the parliament. Their five-year term was due to end in August 2025 - and needed a fresh mandate to push his policies.
Campaigning ended at midnight on Monday, 48 hours before election day.
Eligible voters
Sri Lanka has 17.1 million voters who are eligible to participate in the election. About 1 million of them are first-time voters, according to the Sri Lankan Election Commission.
Sri Lanka election process
Voters directly elect 196 members to parliament from 22 constituencies under a proportional representation system. The remaining 29 seats will be allocated according to the island-wide proportional vote obtained by each party. A voter can cast up to three preferential votes for candidates contesting from their party of choice.
Voting and counting
Votes are cast at thousands of polling stations amid tight security. They will be counted by government employees after polling ends, supervised by Election Commission officials, election monitors and representatives of candidates. Voting began at 7 am local time and ended at 4 pm. The counting of votes started start shortly after.
Sri Lanka election results declaration
The Election Commission formally announced the winning party on Friday--- merely 14 hours after the poll ended. A cabinet is expected to be formed immediately afterwards and the new parliament will convene on November 21 to elect a speaker. President Dissanayake will also present a throne speech outlining his key policy priorities to the new parliament on the same day.
(With inputs from agency)
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