On November 14, 2024, parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka to elect 225 members to the new house. As the counting of votes has begun in Sri Lanka, a new government seems to be loading as NPP led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake has taken a huge lead against all the rival parties. Thus, the National People’s Power party is poised to form its government in the country. This victory of the NPP in the parliamentary elections for the 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka will allow Anura Kumara Dissanayake to implement his socialist agenda in the country.
Sri Lankan Election Results Key Highlights
- The elections to form the 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka were held on November 14, 2024.
- As of now, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s NPP party has won 137 seats with a vote percentage of 61.56 percent.
- Sajith Premadasa’s SJB party secured only 17.74 percent of votes so far and won only 31 seats.
- The political experts are anticipating that Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s NPP party will secure over 150 seats to secure a majority in the assembly.
The counting of votes has begun in Sri Lanka and the new parliamentary house to be formed very soon. The 16th Parliamentary House of Sri Lanka was officially dissolved on September 24, 2024. The same month, the new president of the country was elected, who is Anura Kumara Dissanayake. It won’t be wrong to say that Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s victory in the presidential election held in September has indicated that the people’s trust is in the president who is leading the National People’s Power party in the parliamentary election. As the final result of the parliamentary election began on November 14, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s NPP party secured a majority to establish the government. Here we are to provide the latest updates on the Sri Lanka election results. Delve into the details and find more information.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election held in September, against Sajith Premadasa’s United People’s Power. The victory of the NPP in the parliamentary election will be the first time when a leftist coalition will control both the presidency and parliament. NPP’s victory in the election is likely to shift the Island country’s policies toward a socialist approach and redefine its international relations with India and China. Dissanayake founded his National People’s Power party in 2019. Now he is vying to implement key anti-poverty reforms and address economic challenges after Sri Lanka’s severe financial crisis which led to the ousting of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022 and a $2.9 billion IMF bailout.
For the unversed, the parliament of Sri Lanka comprises a total of 225 members, of which 196 members are elected through the electoral system which distributes seats in each district amongst political parties based on their vote share. The remaining 29 seats are reserved for the parties and independent groups based on their vote percentage received across the country. To form a government in Sri Lanka, a party needs 113 seats while President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s NPP party has already won 134 seats with a vote percentage of 61.56 which saw a change of 57.72 percent increase from the previous parliamentary election.
The other parties have suffered significant losses, with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) receiving 17.74 percent of votes and the National Democratic Front (NDF), supported by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, gaining only 4.45 percent of votes. As of now, the SJB has secured 31 seats, whilst the NDF has obtained 4 seats.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- After the election result, the party with the majority will convene on November 21, 2024.
- NPP has not yet revealed who will be selected as the most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers.
- Headed by the president, NPP has secured a 2/3 majority in the Sri Lanka parliamentary election 2024.