COLOMBO: Sri Lankans handed Anura Kumara Dissanayake a thumping victory in a snap general election, giving its new leftist president a greater legislative power to pursue policies to

In the first major political test for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's NPP, Sri Lanka on Thursday headed to elect a new parliament. Back in September, the ruling party failed to secure 50 percent of the vote in the presidential elections.

Sri Lankans have voted 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