Mahinda Rajapaksa takes oath as Sri Lanka Prime Minister

Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has been sworn in as the country's new prime minister at a historic Buddhist temple. The 74-year-old was administered the oath of office by his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Colombo: Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in on Sunday as the country's new prime minister at a historic Buddhist temple.

The 74-year-old Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) leader was administered the oath of office by his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the sacred Rajamaha Viharaya in Kelaniya, a north Colombo suburb.

The SLPP, led by Mahinda, registered a landslide victory in the August 5 general election, securing a two-thirds majority in Parliament needed to amend the Constitution to further consolidate the powerful Rajapaksa family's grip on power.

Mahinda polled over 500,000 individual preference votes -- the highest ever recorded by a candidate in the history of elections.

The SLPP won in 145 constituencies, bagging a total of 150 seats with its allies, a two-thirds majority in the 225-member Parliament.

(PTI REPORT)