Sri Lanka will vote in a snap general election on Thursday, called by new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to secure a majority in parliament to back his policies in the island nation struggling to recover from a crushing financial crisis.

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.

Sri Lanka is set to hold on Thursday its snap parliamentary election – first after the 2022 economic crisis – amid deployment of nearly 90,000 security personnel across the country

Sri Lanka is holding a snap general election to aid President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in securing a parliamentary majority. The election, featuring 17.1 million eligible voters, was called after the president dissolved the parliament to push forward urgently needed reforms amidst a financial crisis.

Dissanayake, an outsider of the family parties that have dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades, swept to power promising change as the country emerges from a crushing financial crisis. Millions of voters put faith in his graft-fighting pledge and vows to bolster a fragile economic recovery.

Strong support that Dissanayake secured in the presidential election will likely stay with his party in Thursday’s election, analysts say