Sri Lankan president seeks party win in parliamentary election to help him push his economic reforms

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — 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.

The Marxist-leaning Dissanayake won the presidential election on Sept. 21 in a victory that marked a rejection of the traditional political parties that have governed the island nation since its independence from British rule in 1948.

However, Dissanayake's failure to secure more than 50% of the vote has fueled concerns over his party’s outlook in the parliamentary election. His National People's Power party must increase its votes significantly — from the 42% it won in the presidential election — if it is to secure a minimum of 113 seats to take control of the 225-member Parliament.

Dissanayake, while campaigning for his party's candidates, has called on voters to help elect them to Parliament so he won't need to rely on a coalition to enact the reforms he promised.

“A strong government should be formed to rebuild the country. A government that is unshakable in the Parliament should be established. And to do that, Parliament should be filled with elected members from our party," Dissanayake said to cheers at a rally on the final day of campaigning on Monday.

The election comes at a decisive time for Sri Lankans, as the island nation emerges from its worst economic crisis, having declared bankruptcy after defaulting on its external debt in 2022.

The country is now in the middle of a bailout program with the International Monetary Fund and debt restructuring with international creditors nearly complete.

Dissanayake had said during the presidential campaign that he planned to propose significant changes to the targets set in the IMF deal, which his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe signed, saying it placed too much burden on the people. However, he has since changed his stance and says Sri Lanka will go along with the agreement and not seek to change it.

He told his supporters on Monday that an IMF team would arrive in Sri Lanka two days after the election to complete a third review of the agreement.

“By the end of January or the beginning of February, we will complete that task. By then, we will be able to secure considerable stability in the economy,“ he said.

He said the government will present its first budget in February next year.

The government expects the budget to include proposals to reduce taxes and increase salaries for government servants.

Political analyst Jehan Perera said Dissanayake “has been careful and played it safe by continuing with most of the policies set by his predecessor. He has been sensitive to the concerns of the business community that any deviation from the IMF agreement could cause the economy to unravel.”

“The president has been careful not to rock the boat or sink it, as the opposition warned,” he added.

Sri Lanka’s crisis was largely the result of economic mismanagement combined with fallout from the pandemic, which along with 2019 terrorism attacks devastated its important tourism industry. The coronavirus crisis also disrupted the flow of remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad.

The government also slashed taxes in 2019, depleting the treasury just as the virus hit. Foreign exchange reserves plummeted, leaving Sri Lanka unable to pay for imports or defend its currency, the rupee.

Sri Lanka’s economic upheaval led to a political crisis that forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign in 2022. Parliament then elected Wickremesinghe to replace him.

The economy was stabilized, inflation dropped, the local currency strengthened and foreign reserves increased under Wickremesinghe. Nonetheless, he lost the election as public dissatisfaction grew over the government’s effort to increase revenue by raising electricity bills and imposing heavy new income taxes on professionals and businesses, as part of the government’s efforts to meet the IMF conditions.

Dissanayake’s National Peoples' Power party has gained popularity since his election victory, while the opposition parties are divided.

“Those who have been reassured by the smooth transfer of power and the NPP’s restraint in its first two months in power are likely to vote in his favor. This number is likely to see an increase over the number who voted in his favor at the presidential election,” said Perera, the political analyst.

Ruwan Sanjeewa, 36, who works as a laborer, joined one of the final rallies held by Dissanayake's party in the town of Gampaha, 34 kilometers (21 miles) north of Colombo and said he would vote for the NPP.

“See the plight of the country today. Traditional political parties who ruled this country over the last few decades have failed to deliver what they promised. We are now in a very pathetic situation. So, I want to give a chance to NPP. Let's see what they will do. I am hopeful the NPP might do something good for this country,” he said.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake speaks during a public rally ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Gampaha, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A van pasted with propaganda of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna is seen as supporters of ruling National People's Power campaign ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Dambulla , Sri Lanka, Sunday, Nov.10, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake waves with other candidates during a public rally ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Gampaha, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan president and the leader of National People's Power Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrives for a public rally ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Gampaha, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A woman holds a flag of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake 's National People's Power party during a public rally ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Gampaha, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Supporters of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake wait for transport after a public rally ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Gampaha, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Supporters of National People's Power pose for selfie photos next to election propaganda carrying a portrait of president Anura Kumara Dissanayake after a public rally ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election Gampaha, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake leaves after a public rally ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Gampaha, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A supporter of National People's Power distributes propaganda material ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Nov.10, 2024.(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A supporter of National People's Power distributes propaganda material ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Nov.10, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake waves with other candidates during a public rally ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election in Gampaha, Sri Lanka, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)