Incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe is all set to take oath as Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister. His United National Party (UNP) appears close to a simple majority, with rival Mahinda Rajapaksa admitting defeat in the closely contested parliamentary polls. The Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s attempt to stage a comeback in Sri Lanka’s general election has ended in defeat.
Official results showed Wickremesinghe’s United National Party won 106 out of 225 seats in Parliament, while former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance secured 95. The Tamil National Alliance swept the ethnic Tamil-majority northern and eastern provinces with 16 seats. A political party or a coalition must have at least 113 seats to be able to form a government.
President Maithripala Sirisena had vowed not to make Rajapaksa premier even if his UPFA wins a majority.
- Sri Lanka is often known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.
- Sri Lanka was the first country in the world to have a democratically elected head of state who was a woman.
- Although cricket is the most popular sport in Sri Lanka, the national sport of the country is volleyball.
- Sri Lanka is one of the world’s largest tea exporters.
- Sri Lanka’s national flag is said to be one of the oldest flags in the world.
Test Your Knowledge
Who was the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam?
