Mahinda Rajapaksa takes oath as Sri Lankan Prime Minister

Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has been sworn in as the country’s prime minister for the fourth time after his party secured a landslide victory in parliamentary elections that cemented his family’s hold on power.

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Key-Points

He will be administered the oath by his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Mahinda Rajapaksa served as the country’s President from 2006 to 2015. He was appointed Prime Minister after Gotabaya’s victory in November Presidential elections though his side did not enjoy a majority in Parliament.

He is leader of the political party named “Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.”

He was first elected prime minister in 2004 and again appointed for brief periods in 2018 and 2019.

Sri Lanka People’s Front, the party led by the Rajapaksa brothers, won 145 seats in the 225-member parliament in the election.

Its main opponent, the SJB, obtained 54 seats. A party representing ethnic minority Tamils won 10 seats, and 16 others were split among 12 small parties.