The leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and current Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa will be sworn-in as the Prime Minister for the fourth time in the ninth Parliament of Sri Lanka today (9) at the historic Kelaniya Sri Rajamaha Vihara. The ceremony will begin at 8.30 am while the Prime Minister will take oaths before his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the auspicious time of 9.20 am. The SLPP scored a landslide victory at the general election on Wednesday (5) obtaining 6,853,690 votes. The party also secured a near majority by gaining 145 seats in the new Parliament. In a remarkable feat, Rajapaksa also polled the highest number of preferential votes received by a candidate at the general election. Rajapaksa who contested from the Kurunegala district had received a mammoth 527, 364 preferential votes. With his haul of votes at Wednesday’s poll, Rajapaksa broke Ranil Wickremesinghe’s record of 500,566 preferential votes in the Colombo District, when he contested as the UNP Prime Ministerial candidate in 2015.
Following the SLPP victory a media release by Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that the SLPP has won a magnificent and historic victory in this election. “The success of this election proves to the world that the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour presented by the President in his manifesto can be achieved in this country. We pledge to make this victory a triumph for the entire country,” he added.
The ceremony will be telecast live from 8.30 am - 10.00 pm on Hiru television channel, a spokesman for the Department of Government Information said. Other channels are also expected to telecast the event.