Sri Lanka's ruling party gets landslide election win

ANKARA

Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections have resulted in a landslide victory for the powerful Rajapaksa brothers, local media reported on Friday.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party won 145 of the 225 seats up for grabs, Sri Lankan newspaper The Daily Mirror reported.

The party secured nearly 60%, or over 6.85 million, of the total valid votes, well ahead of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya party that came in second with 54 seats.

Voting was carried out on Wednesday to elect lawmakers for Sri Lanka’s ninth parliament.

According to the election commission, the voter turnout was 71% and there was no violent incident at any of the 12,985 polling stations across the country.

The result gives more power to the Rajapaksa family, with Gotabaya Rajapaksa having won the presidential elections last November

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid

ANKARA

Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections have resulted in a landslide victory for the powerful Rajapaksa brothers, local media reported on Friday.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party won 145 of the 225 seats up for grabs, Sri Lankan newspaper The Daily Mirror reported.

The party secured nearly 60%, or over 6.85 million, of the total valid votes, well ahead of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya party that came in second with 54 seats.

Voting was carried out on Wednesday to elect lawmakers for Sri Lanka’s ninth parliament.

According to the election commission, the voter turnout was 71% and there was no violent incident at any of the 12,985 polling stations across the country.

The result gives more power to the Rajapaksa family, with Gotabaya Rajapaksa having won the presidential elections last November

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid