Sri Lankan president hopes for mandate in Parliament

Voters expected to stick by his party, which has just three seats, in Nov 14's snap election

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Sri Lanka votes to elect a new Parliament this week in a snap general election called by its Marxist-leaning president, who wants a fresh mandate in the legislature to drive economic reforms in the debt-ridden island nation.

Mr Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected President of the South Asian country in September, but his National People's Power (NPP) coalition had just three of 225 seats in Parliament, prompting him to dissolve the legislature and seek a fresh mandate there for his policies.

Mr Dissanayake, an outsider of the family parties that have dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades, swept to power promising change as the country emerges from a crushing financial crisis. Millions of voters put faith in his graft-fighting pledge and his vows to bolster a fragile economic recovery.

"In past elections, people did not have confidence in us but in September, people gave us victory and proved that we are a winning party and we can form a government," he said during a campaign rally on Nov 10. "The next task is to unite people from the four corners of this country and build a powerful people's movement."