C COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP): Sri Lankans are voting in a parliamentary election Thursday that is key for the country's new, Marxist-leaning president to consolidate his party's power and follow through on promises of economic recovery. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election on Sept 21 in a victory that marked a rejection of the traditional political parties, which 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 Thursday's 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 acquire a minimum of 113 seats to take control of the 225-member Parliament.

The biggest challenge for the NPP - which was founded in 2019 and is a relative newcomer on Sri Lanka’s political scene - is that many of its candidates are new faces in politics running against well-established politicians from the traditional parties. Of the 225 parliament seats, 196 are up for grabs under Sri Lanka's proportional representative electoral system, which allocates seats in each district among the parties according to the proportion of the votes they get.

The remaining 29 seats - called the national list seats - are allocated to parties and independent groups according to the proportion of the total votes they receive countrywide. There are 8,821 candidates vying for the 196 seats for elected members of Parliament. Sajith Premadasa, who came in second in the presidential election and his Samagi Jana Balawegaya, or United People's Power party, is NPP's main competition.

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. Election results are expected on Friday. The election comes at a decisive time for Sri Lankans, as the island nation is struggling to emerge from its worst economic crisis, having declared bankruptcy after defaulting on its external debt in 2022.