COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's ruling Rajapaksa brothers secured a two-thirds majority in a parliamentary election that allowed them to rewrite the constitution and increase their power, final results showed Friday. The United States, which had been highly critical of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's previous administration, immediately called on the new government to respect human rights and the rule of law.
Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) won 145 seats in Wednesday's election and can count on at least five allies in the new 225-member legislature, according to Election Commission results. SLPP ideologue Gamini Lakshman Peiris said they would move to restore the president's prerogative to sack parliament, a power that was taken away by the outgoing government in 2015.
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