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.

Sri Lankans began voting on Thursday in a snap election to decide if the Indian Ocean island will give its new leftist president greater strength to help the poor as it recovers from a financial meltdown.

The voting started at 7 a.m. local time and will go until 4 p.m. More than 17.1 million voters are eligible to cast their votes. The new Parliament will be convened on November 21. The elected parliamentarians are expected to be declared by November 15 (Friday) if the counting process goes smoothly, Election Commission officials have said.

Sri Lanka holds a crucial parliamentary election as newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake aims to consolidate power and revive the economy

Sri Lanka holds a snap election on Thursday which will determine if the South Asian island nation wants to empower its new, leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to push his anti-poverty policies as it recovers from a financial meltdown.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is looking to consolidate his party's power in Thursday's parliamentary election to help him implement his election pledges to solve the country's economic woes and foster good governance.

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 Lanka votes Thursday in a second national election in as many months with a deeply divided opposition struggling to recover from a crushing defeat at presidential polls.

Sri Lanka's new leftist leader has drawn strong support from an unlikely source as he seeks to expand his three parliamentary seats to a house majority in elections on Thursday.

Strong support that Dissanayake secured in the presidential election will likely stay with his party in Thursday’s election, analysts say