Sawt Falasteen - Sri Lanka president eyes parliament win in snap election

The snap parliamentary election was called by the new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake -- the South Asian island's first leftist leader -- after he won polls on a promise to combat graft and recover the country's stolen assets.

Dissanayake's party is widely tipped to sweep Thursday's parliamentary vote with analysts saying the opposition is in disarray.

The 55-year-old leader is seeking a two-thirds majority in the 225-member legislature to press ahead with reforms after the country's economic meltdown in 2022, when then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted.

Polls for 17.1 million voters choosing between 8,800 candidates, open at 7:00 am (0130 GMT) on Thursday and close at 4:00 pm, with initial results expected Friday.

Dissanayake's JVP, or the People's Liberation Front, is the main constituent of the National People's Power (NPP) coalition of professionals seeking to form the next government.

The NPP held just three seats in the outgoing assembly.

Dissanayake had been an MP for nearly 25 years and was briefly an agriculture minister, but he distanced himself from traditional politicians accused of leading the country to its worst economic crisis two years ago.

His JVP party led two insurrections in 1971 and 1987, leading to the loss of at least 80,000 lives, but Dissanayake took power peacefully in elections on September 21.

- 'Foregone conclusion' -

Despite previous promises to renegotiate a controversial $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout secured by his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe, Dissanayake has chosen to maintain the agreement with the international lender.

The country's main private sector lobby, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, is tacitly supporting Dissanayake and expects him to press ahead with reforms.

"Continuing reforms... could encourage both investor confidence and fiscal discipline, setting a foundation for sustainable growth," CCC Secretary Bhuwanekabahu Perera told AFP ahead of voting.

He said Dissanayake's approach to governance "may lean toward a balanced socialist-democratic model that acknowledges market realities."

An IMF delegation is due in Colombo on Thursday to review economic progress before releasing the next tranche of $330 million of the bailout loan.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, who had campaigned to take part in a coalition government, vowed in his final campaign rally he would "put pressure" on Dissanayake to honour promises of tax cuts.

Poll monitors and analysts note that Thursday's election had failed to generate the level of enthusiasm -- or violence -- seen at previous polls.

Political analyst Kusal Perera said there was little campaigning by opposition parties.

"The opposition is dead," Perera said. "The result of the election is a foregone conclusion."

Over 60 senior politicians from the previous administration have opted to stay out.

The outgoing parliament was dominated by the party of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa -- the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), or the People's Front -- but it has since splintered.

Rajapaksa is not contesting, but his son Namal, a former sports minister, is seeking re-election.

I.Matar--SF-PST