India, Nov. 17 -- If more emphasis was needed from the Sri Lankans to underline that they wanted change in the country, the results of the November 14 parliamentary elections provided it in ample measure. After electing the candidate of the National People's Power (NPP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake as President on September 23, the people spoke again on November 14 by presenting a two-thirds majority and 159 seats to the NPP.

The massive mandate provided to the NPP is the largest to any political formation since Sri Lanka adopted the proportional representation system under its 1978 Constitution. The vote also torpedoed the decades-old divisions between the Tamils and Sinhalese as well as the Muslims and the Sinhalese, burying the many ghost...