Landslide win in Sri Lanka for Marxist Dissanayake’s NPP

Ushering a new era in Sri Lankan politics, Marxist President Anura Dissanayake’s NPP on Friday (November 15)won a historic two-third majority in parliament in general elections, crushing traditional parties that had dominated politics in the island nation for decades.

Election officials said the National People’s Power, whose core is Dissanayake’s leftist Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP), had grabbed a whopping 159 of the total 225 seats, leaving the main opposition SJB gasping at a distant second with 40 seats.

Also read: NPP creates history, finishes on top in Tamil heartland Jaffna

The NPP mopped up 61 per cent of all votes polled, a dramatic surge from the 42 per cent Dissanayake got in the first round in September when he became the president. A ruling party must win 113 seats for a simple majority in parliament.

Opposition is crushed

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), popularly known as the Federal Party, won eight seats in the Tamil areas of the island’s north and east to become the third largest group in parliament although far behind the NPP and SJB.

In contrast, the National Democratic Party backed by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe and the once powerful SLPP of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa were decimated, winning just 5 and 3 seats, respectively. The remaining seats went to smaller parties and independents.

Vote for change

“This is a vote for a complete change,” political analyst Kusal Perera told The Federal from Colombo. “The voters have stated in clear-cut language that they want a change not just in content but also in format and colour.”

No political party in Sri Lanka has won a two-third majority on its own since a new constitution was introduced in 1978.

Dissanayake, 55, had asserted after casting his vote on Thursday: “This is a crucial election that will mark a turning point in Sri Lanka.” Political pundits agree that this is precisely what Friday’s election outcome showed.

The sweep by the NPP, which had just 3 seats in the outgoing parliament, was such that it came on top in all the 22 electoral districts barring the Tamil-majority Batticaloa on the east coast where alone the ITAK finished with the most seats.

Also read: Sri Lanka: What new Marxist leader means for economy, IMF loans

NPP and Tamil areas

While the strongest performance for the NPP came in areas primarily populated by the majority Sinhalese community, it also did surprisingly well in Tamil areas in the island’s north and east, which was the scene of a quarter century long separatist war that ended in 2009.

The NPP also outclassed everyone in the country’s central tea plantation areas which are heavily populated by Tamil workers of Indian origin.

Election officials said the NPP’s 61.56 per cent votes contrasted with the 17.66 per cent of the SJB. All others in the race had a vote share in single digits – a reflection of the national mood.

A massive sweep

The NPP onslaught led to the defeat of almost all former cabinet ministers, proving Dissanayake’s strong appeal after he promised voters an administration that would weed out corruption, go for badly needed national reconciliation and boost a battered economy.

“The NPP is on the threshold of a two-third majority in parliament,” said Saliya Peiris, a former president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. He too noted that the NPP had made major gains in the Tamil areas, a sign that voters wanted the new government to unite diverse communities.

But Peiris warned that the huge win would come with several challenges for the new president, who among other things has promised to scrap the executive presidency and restore supremacy to parliament.

Also read: Sri Lanka polls | Why Dissanayake's NPP is poised to dominate parliament

The 2022 tumult

Sri Lankans voted on Thursday to elect a new parliament in the first general election since the 2022 dramatic economic collapse that triggered an unprecedented mass revolt and forced then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country.

Wickremesinghe succeeded him with the backing of then MPs.

Although Wickremesinghe managed to rescue Sri Lanka from further ruin, the policies he embraced after an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout were hugely popular. The discontent first catapulted Dissanayake to the presidency and will gift the parliament to the veteran Marxist.