Snap Sri Lankan election poses test for new leader

Sri Lanka’s 17.1 million voters head to the polls again on Thursday to vote in snap parliamentary elections, barely seven weeks after choosing a new president.

More than 8,800 candidates are in the fray in an election marked by a low-key campaign.

Voting began at 07:00 local time (01:30 GMT) and lasts until 16:00 (10.30 GMT). Counting will start in the evening and results are expected on Friday. As of 10:00 local time (04:30 GMT), 20-25% of the votes have been cast.

Out of 225 seats in the parliament, 196 MPs will be directly elected. The rest will be nominated by political parties based on the percentage of votes they get in what is known as proportional representation.

Observers expect a multi-cornered contest in the general election, which may ultimately dent the chances of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, enacting ambitious reforms.

“Analysts predict he may struggle to get two-thirds and may have to rely on coalitions. This would make his task much more difficult,” says Raisa Wickrematunge.

The election campaign has been largely peaceful with no reports of poll-related deaths or large scale misuse of government resources.

"Violence is negligible compared to previous elections. It will be peaceful elections," hopes Rohana Hettiarachchie.