Brothers Look to Consolidate Power After Sri Lanka Election Win
- Rajapaksas miss two-thirds majority for constitutional changes
- Lanka election was twice postponed amid Covid lockdown
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The brothers ruling Sri Lanka scored a landslide victory in parliamentary elections even as they fell short of a two-third majority that would allow President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to push through contentious constitutional changes that restore sweeping executive powers to his office.
Rajapaksa -- who has run a minority government since he won a November presidential poll and appointed his brother and former strongman Mahinda as the prime minister -- wanted to win at least 150 of the island’s 225-seat parliament. That would allow him to bolster the role of the presidency and give him greater influence over the judiciary, military and bureaucracy.