Sri Lankans are voting in a parliamentary election that's key for their new, Marxist-leaning president to consolidate his party’s power and follow through on promises of economic recovery.

Sri Lanka began counting votes cast on Thursday in a snap general election that will decide if the Indian Ocean island nation will give its new leftist president greater legislative power to help the poor as it recovers from a financial meltdown.

In the past four years, the share of people living below the poverty line in Sri Lanka has risen to 25.9 per cent. The World Bank forecasts the economy to grow by just 2.2 per cent in 2024. Mr Dissanayake needs his alliance to win a two-thirds majority of 225 seats in the legislature to press forward with his reform package.

With Sri Lanka's economic recovery hanging in balance, President Dissanayake hopes voters give him a strong mandate for his policies to reduce taxes and boost welfare.

Sri Lankans voted in a snap parliamentary election, testing the popularity of the ruling National People's Power party under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. As the nation recovers from an economic crisis,

"We believe that this is a crucial election that will mark a turning point in Sri Lanka," President Dissanayake told reporters after voting in the capital Colombo. The man he defeated in the presidential elections,

Sri Lanka votes Thursday in a second national election in as many months with a deeply divided opposition struggling to recover from a crushing defeat at presidential polls.