Sri Lanka voters hand president Dissanayake a win for greater legislative power | DW News

The party of Sri Lanka's new Marxist-leaning President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took a seemingly unassailable lead, results from the Indian Ocean island's poll body showed on Friday. Dissanayake's coalition, the National People's Power (NPP), won 137 of 196 for which direct elections were held, giving them a two thirds majority. After winning the presidential election in September, Dissanayake is seeking a mandate for his policies aimed at alleviating distress among the poor in a country that has been poverty-ravaged in recent years. Dissanayake's coalition had just three of parliament's 225 seats before Thursday's election, prompting him to dissolve it and seek a fresh mandate. Tamils fight back against land grabs in Sri Lanka #srilanka Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1 For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/ Follow DW on social media: ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/ ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews ►Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/dwnews_hangout Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/dwdeutsch