Sri Lanka holds a snap election on Thursday which will determine if the South Asian island nation wants to empower its new, leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to push his anti-poverty policies as it recovers from a financial meltdown.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is looking to consolidate his party’s power in Thursday’s parliamentary election to help him implement his election pledges to solve the country’s economic woes and foster good governance.

In the past four years, the share of people living below the poverty line in Sri Lanka has risen to 25.9 per cent. The World Bank forecasts the economy to grow by just 2.2 per cent in 2024. Mr Dissanayake needs his alliance to win a two-thirds majority of 225 seats in the legislature to press forward with his reform package.

Colombo: The ruling National People's Power party led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is poised for a sweeping victory in the Sri Lankan parliamentary election held on Thursday. As of 11 pm local time,

Voting begins in Sri Lanka's parliamentary election that is key for its new, Marxist-leaning president.

Sri Lanka will vote in a snap general election on Thursday, called by new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to secure a majority in parliament to back his policies in the island nation struggling to recover from a crushing financial crisis.

Sri Lanka votes Thursday in a second national election in as many months with a deeply divided opposition struggling to recover from a crushing defeat at presidential polls.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake got elected as the president in September, however, his National People's Power (NPP) coalition gained only three of 225 seats in the parliament.