NPP secures first local election victory for parliamentary vote in Sri Lanka
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's National People's Power (NPP) won the Elpitiya local government election, securing 15 of the 28 available seats, according to the Election Commission.
Sri Lanka is set to hold a parliamentary election on November 14. Elpitiya was the first one to launch the local government election, reports Xinhua news agency.
The NPP garnered 17,295 of the 36,305 valid votes cast. The Samagi Jana Balavegaya, led by Sajith Premadasa, Dissanayake's main competitor in the September 21 presidential election, came in second, winning six seats with 7,924 votes.
Sri Lanka's parliament consists of 225 members, with 196 elected through direct votes and the remaining 29 appointed via the national list, based on the proportion of votes each political party or independent group secures in the parliamentary election.
The country last held its parliamentary election in 2020.
After emerging victorious in recent presidential elections, NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as the executive President, dissolved the Parliament eleven months in advance, paving the way for the parliamentary election in November.