Sri Lankans went to the polls on Monday to elect a new parliament in what amounts to a referendum on ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s comeback bid.
The nationalist strongman has set his sights on becoming premier of a government led by his Sri Lanka Freedom Party. But the former ally who beat him at the polls in January, President Maithripala Sirisena, now leads the party and he rules that out.
Early voters in down town Colombo said they were casting their ballots for reconciliation and good governance, showing sympathy for the UNP of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Minority Tamils and Muslims have rallied behind the UNP-led coalition, which pundits say has the best chance of forming the largest bloc in the 225-seat parliament.
The election to the 225-seat national parliament, promises a close battle between the United National Party (UNP) of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) of President Sirisena.
Sri Lanka Polls: Numbers, Challenges
- 196 members will be elected from districts, while 29 will be appointed based on the national proportion of votes polled by each party.
- To have a working majority government, 113 seats are needed in the National Assembly.
- The rivalry between Wickremesinghe and Sirisena is limited to party positions they hold as the former’s support helped Sirisena become president in January by defeating Rajapaksa.
- The real challenge to the UNP comes from former president and Sinhala strongman Rajapaksa.
The 69-year-old former President forced himself into the United People’s Freedom Alliance led by Sirisena to contest the parliamentary poll. This is an action unprecedented for a former president of Sri Lanka.
Sirisena was not in favour of granting Rajapaksa a party ticket but his party allies have defied his wishes.
Sirisena said he had to consent to allowing Rajapaksa to contest the August 17 election, as there was a threat that the party would be split if he was not given a party ticket.
Accusing Rajapaksa of alienating Tamil and Muslim minorities from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Sirisena asked his predecessor not to create divisions in the party.
(With agency inputs)
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