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.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s coalition took an early lead in parliamentary elections seen as a test of the leftist leader’s ambitious pledges to combat corruption and change the terms of an unpopular International Monetary Fund bailout.

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

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's promise to hold corrupt officials accountable has fueled his public support.

Sri Lanka will vote in a snap general election on Thursday, called by new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to secure a majority in parliament to back his policies in the island nation struggling to recover from a crushing financial crisis.

Sri Lankans began voting Thursday in snap parliamentary elections, with new leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's party expected to secure a big majority to drive through economic reforms.The outgoing parliament was dominated by the party of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa -- the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP),