Sri Lanka Politics

Although everyone expected the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to win, the proportion of the landslide victory is staggering

Mahinda Rajapaksa says the trust bestowed on him by the people will inspire him to continue to serve the country

The new government has decided to restrict the size of the Cabinet to 26, though it can be increased up to 30 in terms of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution

The counting began in the morning after the polls were closed on Wednesday

Voter turnout was 70%

The August 5 election is likely to be Deshapriya's last election as the Chairman of the National Election Commission

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced in Parliament that Premadasa had been accepted as the Opposition Leader, the Colombo Gazette reported

Sri Lanka's existing parliamentary term ends next August, and the Constitution allows the president to dissolve the legislature in March and go for an election.

Mahinda won power in 2005 and went on to become South Asia's longest-serving leader. He became the country's youngest ever parliamentarian in 1970 at the age of 24

Gotabaya's election presents challenges and opportunities

The largest portion of the country's foreign debt is international sovereign bonds - 39 per cent of the total foreign debt as of 2017

The 70-year-old politician served as the defence secretary during his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's tenure as president from 2005 to 2014

The counting will start soon after the end of voting. The first results are expected after mid night, officials said. The final results will come on Monday.

At stake is the stability of a nation that has increasing strategic importance due in part to its proximity to some of the world's most important sea lines

Filing of the nomination papers will start from October 7, the National Election Commission said

The speaker said Sirisena had gone back on previous commitments to recall parliament on November 7

Sri Lanka has been gripped by constitutional turmoil since President Maithripala Sirisena sacked his former ally, prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and his cabinet on October 26