Sri Lankans are voting in a parliamentary election that's key for their new, Marxist-leaning president to consolidate his party’s power and follow through on promises of economic recovery.

The party of Sri Lanka’s new Marxist-leaning president Anura Kumara Dissanayake took a large lead in early results from the parliamentary elections,

Sri Lanka began counting votes cast on Thursday in a snap general election that will decide if the Indian Ocean island nation will give its new leftist president greater legislative power to help the poor as it recovers from a financial meltdown.

President Anura Dissanayake's National People's Power Party Wins Parliamentary Majority

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is looking to consolidate his party’s power in Thursday’s parliamentary election to help him implement his election pledges to solve the country’s economic woes and foster good governance.

In the past four years, the share of people living below the poverty line in Sri Lanka has risen to 25.9 per cent. The World Bank forecasts the economy to grow by just 2.2 per cent in 2024. Mr Dissanayake needs his alliance to win a two-thirds majority of 225 seats in the legislature to press forward with his reform package.

Sri Lanka's president's coalition, the National People's Power (NPP) posted an early lead in a parliamentary election, local television channel Ada Derana said on Thursday. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake called for snap a general election in September to seek a mandate to take forward his policies in the island nation struggling to emerge from a severe financial crisis.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's promise to hold corrupt officials accountable has fueled his public support.