Sri Lanka holds a snap election on Thursday which will determine if the South Asian island nation wants to empower its new, leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to push his anti-poverty policies as it recovers from a financial meltdown.

Sri Lanka’s new leftist president aims for a parliament majority in early elections, promising economic reform and anti-corruption action.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is looking to consolidate his party’s power in Thursday’s parliamentary election to help him implement his election pledges to solve the country’s economic woes and foster good governance.

In the past four years, the share of people living below the poverty line in Sri Lanka has risen to 25.9 per cent. The World Bank forecasts the economy to grow by just 2.2 per cent in 2024. Mr Dissanayake needs his alliance to win a two-thirds majority of 225 seats in the legislature to press forward with his reform package.

People in Sri Lanka are voting in snap parliamentary elections, barely seven weeks after choosing a new president. More than 8,800 candidates are in the fray in an election marked by a low-key campaign.

Sri Lankans on Thursday began casting their ballots in a snap parliamentary election widely considered to be a chance for the new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to secure an imperative mandate for his pro-poor policies.

Sri Lanka's first parliamentary elections since its 2022 economic crisis occurred, posing a major test for the ruling National People's Power (NPP) led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Despite the anticipated lower voter turnout of 65%,

Strong support that Dissanayake secured in the presidential election will likely stay with his party in Thursday’s election, analysts say

Sri Lanka's new leftist leader has drawn strong support from an unlikely source as he seeks to expand his three parliamentary seats to a house majority in elections on Thursday.