HAMBANTOTA: Sri Lanka votes to elect a new parliament this week in a snap general election called by its Marxist-leaning president who wants a fresh mandate in the legislature to drive economic reforms in the debt-ridden island nation.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected president of the South Asian country in September but his National People’s Power (NPP) coalition had just three of 225 seats in parliament, prompting him to dissolve the legislature and seek a fresh mandate there for his policies.

Dissanayake, an outsider of the family parties that have dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades, swept to power promising change as the country emerges from a crushing financial crisis. Millions of voters put faith in his graft-fighting pledge and vows to bolster a fragile economic recovery.

“In past elections, people did not have confidence in us but in September people gave us victory and proved that we are a winning party and we can form a government,” Dissanayake said during a campaign rally on Sunday.

Investors worry that Marxist-leaning president’s desire to revisit terms of IMF bailout could delay future disbursements

“The next task is to unite people from the four corners of this country and build a powerful people’s movement.” Sri Lankans were hit hard by the 2022 economic crisis, which was triggered by a severe shortfall of foreign currency that added to problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Buttressed by a $2.9 billion bailout programme from the Intern­ational Monetary Fund, the economy has posted a tentative recovery, but the high cost of living is still a critical issue for many voters.

Dissanayake aims to change the revenue goals set under the IMF programme to reduce high income taxes and free up funds to invest in welfare for millions of Sri Lankans hardest hit by its financial crisis.

Investors worry that Dissanayake’s desire to revisit the terms of the country’s IMF bailout could delay future disbursements, and make it harder for Sri Lanka to hit a crucial primary surplus target of 2.3pc of GDP in 2025 set under the programme.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa’s party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya, is expected to be NPP’s main challenger alongside the New Democratic Front — a breakaway group from the party of the Raja­paksa family and backed by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Voters who backed Dissanayake in September are expected to stick by him in the general election as well.

In Hambantota — a southern district of about 680,000 people largely from the farming and fishing communities — Sudath Kumara and his wife, Nilmini Kumari, voted for Dissanayake in September’s presidential election. They plan to do the same on Thursday by backing his coalition NPP.

Expenses are currently five times the 3,000 rupees ($10) her husband earns in a month by doing odd jobs, said Kumari, standing in their one-room house built of cement bricks.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024