Sri Lanka's leftist coalition wins landslide victory, eyes sweeping reforms

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leftist coalition, the National People’s Power (NPP), secured a decisive victory in Thursday’s snap general election, winning 137 of the 196 directly elected seats. Local media project that the total will surpass 150 seats once proportional representation is factored in, giving Dissanayake a commanding two-thirds majority in the 225-member parliament.

This victory gives Dissanayake the power to push through his reform agenda, including plans to abolish the executive presidency. In total, the NPP secured almost 62% of the vote, or around 7 million ballots, up from 42% in the presidential election held in September. Dissanayake, a political outsider, is now poised to reshape Sri Lanka’s political landscape, having built strong support among minorities and the wider electorate.

While the clear mandate strengthens political stability, there is some uncertainty over Dissanayake’s economic policies, especially his intention to alter the terms of Sri Lanka’s $2.9 billion IMF bailout. The IMF deal has been crucial to the country’s tentative economic recovery following the 2022 crisis, which saw Sri Lanka default on its debt and its economy contract by 7.3% in 2022 and 2.3% in 2023.

Dissanayake, who has promised to reduce taxes and prioritize welfare for the country’s poor, aims to negotiate with the IMF to revise income tax targets and free up funds for social spending. However, analysts warn that revisiting the bailout terms could delay future IMF disbursements and make it harder to meet a critical fiscal target of a 2.3% primary surplus by 2025.

Despite these challenges, the NPP’s victory, with its overwhelming 62% support, signals a shift in Sri Lanka’s political culture. The opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya, led by Sajith Premadasa, won 35 seats, while the New Democratic Front, backed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, secured just three seats.

As Dissanayake moves forward with his mandate, the focus will be on how he balances political ambitions with the urgent need for economic reforms to ensure Sri Lanka’s recovery continues.