Rajapaksa brothers solidify power in Sri Lanka elections

Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Sri Lanka's powerful Rajapaksa brothers were able to consolidate power Friday after their political party scored significant victories in parliamentary elections.

The Sri Lanka People's Front won a clear majority of seats in Parliament, 145 of 225, securing Mahinda Rajapaksa's position as prime minister. He was to be sworn in by younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is president of Sri Lanka.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the presidential election last November. In March, he dissolved Parliament and ordered early snap elections.

"People have once again imposed their full confidence in us," Mahinda Rajapaksa said after the vote results were announced. "We will fulfill their aspirations and will always value the confidence they have placed in us."

Mahinda Rajapaksa had served two terms as president before he was voted out in 2015 amid accusations of corruption, nepotism and war crimes. He rose to power in the military after leading government forces to defeat Tamil rebel groups to end Sri Lanka's bloody 25-year civil war.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who also served in the military, also faced accusations of human rights abuses during the civil war.

Sri Lanka's minority Muslim community, though, has expressed concern about a surge in Sinhala nationalism that helped the brothers get elected and how it will affect their rights in the largely Buddhist island nation.