BANGKOK -- Sri Lanka's most influential political family -- the Rajapaksas -- led their party to a landslide victory in Wednesday's general election, their second electoral success in less than a year, as they campaigned on political stability and tapped into ultranationalist sentiment.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna -- a political vehicle for the Rajapaksas, who hail from the south of the country -- won 146 seats in the 225-member legislature, tallying a record of nearly 6.8 million votes for a parliamentary poll and giving the party a decisive majority.