The Rajapaksa family is all set to consolidate its power in Sri Lankan politics as the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party won the parliamentary polls in the island country. The results, which were declared by Sri Lanka’s Election Commission on Friday, said that the SLPP won 145 of the 225 seats in the Sri Lankan Parliament. The SLPP is also the single largest party to have two-thirds of the total seats in the country’s Parliament.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya or the United People's Front, led by former presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa was the runner-up by winning 54 seats while the ITAK, a Tamil political party, won 10 seats.
One of Sri Lanka's oldest political parties, the United National Party, led by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe did not win any seats.
Rajapaksa will be sworn in as the nation's new Prime Minister following his party's victory, likely by the weekend after which a new cabinet will be appointed next week.
According to the country's constitution, the cabinet will be limited to 30 ministers.
Rajapaksa, in a short statement on his official Twitter account soon after the party's victory, thanked his voters and expressed gratitude to them for placing their trust in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and himself.
"We will ensure Sri Lanka will not stand disappointed during our tenure," Rajapaksa said.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a statement released late on Thursday night said he was confident of establishing a strong parliament following the SLPP's victory.
Sri Lanka held its parliamentary election on August 5 which was declared as one of the most peaceful elections held in the island country's political history. A 71% voter turnout was recorded. Sri Lanka's new Parliament will convene on August 20.