Campaigning winds up in Sri Lanka ahead of key vote

The snap legislative election was called by new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake after he won September polls

By AFP

Published: Mon 11 Nov 2024, 6:32 PM

Last updated: Mon 11 Nov 2024, 6:33 PM

Sri Lanka's political campaigning drew to a close on Monday ahead of parliamentary polls that have turned into a referendum on ambitious plans to tackle corruption in the bankrupt nation.

The snap legislative election was called by new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake after he won September polls on a promise to combat graft and recover the country's stolen assets.

The 55-year-old leader is seeking a two-thirds majority in the 225-member legislature to consolidate his executive power and press ahead with reforms.

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His party held just three seats in the outgoing assembly, which was elected in August 2020 for a five-year term, that he cut short by nearly 10 months.

Dissanayake has been an MP for nearly 25 years and was briefly an agriculture minister, but he distanced himself from traditional politicians accused of leading the country to its worst meltdown in 2022.

"He came to power on a promise to fight corruption and the main theme of the parliamentary election campaign is also the same," political analyst Kusal Perera said.

Dissanayake's JVP, or the People's Liberation Front, is the main constituent of the National People's Power (NPP) coalition of professionals seeking to form the next government.

Despite previous promises to renegotiate a controversial $2.9 billion IMF bailout secured by his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe, Dissanayake has chosen to maintain the agreement with the international lender.

The JVP succeeded at the ballot in the September presidential poll, where they had failed twice through bullets.

The party led two insurrections in 1971 and 1987, leading to the loss of at least 80,000 lives.

Poll monitors and analysts note that Thursday's election has failed to generate the level of enthusiasm — or violence — seen at previous polls.

Election monitor Rohana Hettiarachchi said there had been no poll-related murders in the run-up to the vote, where 8,880 candidates are contesting the 225 seats allocated under a proportional representation system.

"In the past, we had 30 to 40 murders, shootings...," said Hettiarachchi, head of the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections. "But this time we are really happy with the campaign environment."

Analyst Perera said a key reason was because the opposition had done little campaigning during the seven week period.

"The opposition is dead," Perera said. "The result of the election is a foregone conclusion. The NPP will form the next government."

Polls for 17 million registered voters open at 7am (0130 GMT) on Thursday, with results expected on Friday.

The outgoing parliament was dominated by the party of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa — the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), or the People's Front — but it has since splintered.

Rajapaksa is not contesting, but his son Namal, a former sports minister, is seeking re-election.

Over 60 senior politicians from the previous administration have opted