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The ruling party in Sri Lanka has further widened its lead in the parliamentary elections and is heading for a landslide victory, officials said on Thursday.
Early results show that incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Party (Sri Lanka People's Party, SLPP) was leading with clear majorities in most constituencies.
With more than 5 million votes counted and released officially, the SLPP was leading with 61 per cent of the vote, with the closest rival party securing only 22 per cent.
The results of 90 out of the 160 constituencies have been announced so far, with the SLPP securing 80 of them.

Unofficial results showed that Rajapaksa's party was in the lead in most of the 160 constituencies.
The worst setback was suffered by former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) which has so far failed to secure even 3 per cent of the vote.
The UNP has been plagued by divisions and most of its previously popular candidates ran under the banner of a separate party, known as the United People's Front (SJB) and led by former presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa.
Premadasa’s SJB was heading to be the main opposition party trailing behind Rajapaksa's SLPP.
Elections are being held for 225 members of parliament for the next five years.
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Earlier in the day, officials started the counting process after holding back the ballot boxes overnight following Wednesday's poll. The process was delayed to follow strict health procedures due to fears of the spread of coronavirus.
The elections had been postponed twice since April due to the pandemic, but Sri Lanka's government has kept the situation under control so far, with fewer than 3,000 cases and 11 deaths to date.
Polling ended without any major incidents of violence and with a turnout of 71 per cent, said Mahinda Deshapriya, the chairman of the Elections Commission. More than 16.2 million people were registered to vote.
The voting rate was lower than at the previous parliamentary elections in 2015, where turnout was 77 per cent. However, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said the number of voters was a show of confidence in the government over its efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus.

President Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Rajapaksa, had urged voters to give them a two-thirds majority in parliament so that they could make constitutional amendments and ensure a stable government. However, it was not immediately clear if they were able to receive a two-thirds majority of 150 of the 225 seats. 
Meanwhile, the president announced that the new parliament will meet on August 20.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sri Lankan Prime Minister Rajapaksa during a telephone call on Thursday evening.
“It was a pleasure to speak to you,” Modi tweeted afterwards. “Once again, many congratulations. We will work together to further advance all areas of bilateral cooperation and to take our special ties to ever newer heights.”



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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s ruling party heading for landslide victory in elections

Election officials transport ballot boxes to the main counting centre amid legislative elections in Sri Lanka on Thursday. Photo: dpa

A Special Task Force (STF) soldier stands guard at the main counting centre in Colombo on August 6, 2020, a day after Sri Lanka's parliamentary election. - Sri Lanka's ruling party took a clear lead on August 6 in early results from parliamentary elections in which the dominant Rajapaksa family hope to strengthen their grip on power. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP)

In this handout photograph released by the Department Of Government Information Media Division on August 5, 2020 Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa casts his ballot at a polling station in their home village Madamulana, 178 kilometers (110 miles) south of capital Colombo. - Sri Lankan voters cast their ballots on August 5 for a new parliament as the ruling Rajapaksa brothers seek a fresh mandate to cement their grip on power. (Photo by - / Department Of Government Information Media Division / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Department Of Government Information Media Division" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

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Members of Citizens Against Racism protest attacks on Sri Lankan Muslims in 2018. Photo: EPA

epa06608374 Members of the Sri Lanka's Bohra community's Alliance for Muslim Rights shout slogans and carry placards during a protest in front of the United Nations office in Colombo, Sri Lanka 16 March 2018. The Bohras in Sri Lanka or mostly called the Dawoodi Bohras are Shi'a Muslims who had arrived from northwestern India, they are less than 2,000 in number. These groups are mostly engaged in business activities while retaining their own places of worship and the languages of their ancestral homelands. A few of them staged a protest march after their customary Friday noon prayers while demanding that the culprits behind the recent anti-Muslim violence in the central areas be brought to book and also calling upon the Inspector General of Police to provide security to their mosque at Bambalapitiya in Colombo. Meanwhile, police have arrested the main suspect involved in the violent incidents in Kandy along with nine others. So far over hundred suspects are under police custody. EPA-EFE

Sri Lanka arrests Swiss embassy worker Gania Banister Francis, saying she faked abduction

Swiss embassy worker Gania Banister Francis (in pink shawl) is escorted to a magistrate court after her arrest in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Sri Lankan Swiss embassy worker Garnier Banister Francis, covered in pink shawl, holds on to an unidentified foreign national as Sri Lankan police officers escort her to a magistrate court after her arrest in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Dec. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

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Early results show incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s SLPP with clear majorities in most constituencies
With 5 million ballots counted, ruling party has 61 per cent of vote, with closes rival securing only 22 per cent



Early results show incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s SLPP with clear majorities in most constituencies.


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