After Landslide Victory, Mahinda Rajapaksa Sworn In As Prime Minister Of Sri Lanka For Fourth Time

Aged 74-years-old, Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was today (9 August) sworn in as the Prime Minister (PM) of Sri Lanka for the fourth time, reports New Indian Express.

In the recently culminated ninth general elections of Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa polled over 5,00,000 individual preference votes, which is the highest ever tally of preference votes recorded in the island nation's history.

With this, Rajapaksa led SLPP registered a landslide victory in the elections, decimating the opposition who had contested against him. The party won 145 constituencies alone, and 150 along with its allies. Thus, it managed to register a two-thirds majority in the 225-member Sri Lankan Parliament.

Rajapaksa's younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is also the incumbent President of Sri Lanka, congratulated his brother on being sworn in as the PM for the fourth time, as the Rajapaksa clan solidified its grip on the nation's political landscape.

Rajapaksa took the oath of office at the historic Rajamaha Viharaya Buddhist temple which is situated in Kelaniya which is a suburb in North Colombo.