President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, former two-term President Mahinda Rajapaksa have managed landslide win in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections.
With a two-thirds majority of votes in parliament, they can overturn the reforms made by the previous administration aimed at decentralising power and preventing the rise of another strongman.
Sri Lanka People’s Freedom Alliance (SLPFA), of which their Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is a majority stakeholder, stormed to victory in districts across the island of 22 million people, winning at least 150 seats, out of a total of 225 in the unicameral legislature.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the younger of the two brothers, was elected as President in a similar landslide victory in November. Mahinda, the elder brother, is expected to be elected Prime Minister when Parliament convenes following the election.
While an SLPP win was largely expected, there was some uncertainty over whether they would be able to achieve the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution right off the bat, or if they would need to make deals with other parties while forming a coalition.
For Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa, the resounding victory means the SLPP no longer needs to enter into compromises with other parties. It has the numbers to deliver sweeping constitutional changes to increase the executive authority of the presidency, as promised by the Rajapaksas in both this and the earlier presidential election.