ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power left rivals far behind in results declared in the 2024 general elections, raking in over 65 percent of the vote.
The NPP also scored the most votes in the Jaffna polling division after also winning the postal votes.
Related Sri Lanka President’s NPP gets most votes in Jaffna
Sri Lanka went to polls in a stabilization crisis coming after the worst currency collapse in the history of the island’s central bank, which ended in a sovereign default.
Ex-President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who oversaw the stabilization crisis, under an International Monetary Fund program – the 17th such program triggered by the central bank with rate cuts and liquidity injections to boost growth – lost to Anura Dissanayake in September.
The stabilization crisis included income tax hikes on middle class wage earners on top of prices rises coming from the central bank’s depreciation of the currency which fell from 200 to 360.
Dissanayake only polled 42 percent in the Presidential election.
Earlier in the day President Dissanayake said he expected strong mandate to govern and carry out his program.
Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said after voting on November 14 that she expected a majority as many who had not voted for the NPP were now looking at the party favorably.
Polling was estimated at around 65 percent, the lowest since a general election in 2010, when then President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party got 144 seats in the 225 member assembly.
On results declared by early morning on November 15, NPP has taken around 65 percent of the vote.
READ THE UPDATED RESULTS HERE
Sajith Premadasa’s Samagi Jana Balawegaya was a distant second with around 16.7 percent of the vote.
The New Democratic Front made up of ex-Ministers who supported the stabilization program and Wickremesinghe’s own United National Party polled around 5.2 percent.
In Galle where seats were declared, NPP won 7, SJB 1 and SLPP one
In Polonnaruwa, NPP won 4 and SLPP 1.
In Hambanthora, NPP won 5, SJB 1, SLPP 1.
In Matara, NPP won 6, SJB 1.
In Moneragala NPP won 5, SJB 1.
(Colombo/Nov15/2024 – Update VI)