A parliamentary majority will allow Anura Kumara Dissanayake to consolidate power and advance reforms.

By Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's coalition, the National People's Power (NPP), was set to win a majority in a snap general election, results from the Indian Ocean island's poll body showed on Friday.

Securing a parliamentary majority will be crucial for Dissanayake to implement his agenda fully, as executive power alone does not permit the appointment of a full cabinet or the passage of significant economic policies.

Sri Lanka's new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake was confident of a victory as polls closed in Thursday's snap legislative elections.

Sri Lanka began counting votes cast on Thursday in a snap general election that will decide if the Indian Ocean island nation will give its new leftist president greater legislative power to help the poor as it recovers from a financial meltdown.

Sri Lanka's National People's Power (NPP) party, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, is poised to win a majority in the recent parliamentary elections. With over 62% of the vote, the NPP has secured 52 seats so far,

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's promise to hold corrupt officials accountable has fueled his public support.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s coalition took an early lead in parliamentary elections seen as a test of the leftist leader’s ambitious pledges to combat corruption and change the terms of an unpopular International Monetary Fund bailout.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's coalition, the National People's Power (NPP), was set for victory in a snap general election, results from the Indian Ocean island's poll body showed on Friday.

Sri Lankans have voted in a parliamentary election that's key for their new, Marxist-leaning president to consolidate his party’s power and follow through on promises of economic recovery