Sri Lankans, wearing masks, flock to voting centres for parliament election

FILE PHOTO: Sri Lankan police and election officials wearing protective masks load ballot boxes and papers onto buses from a distribution center to polling stations ahead of the country's parliamentary election scheduled for August 5, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 4, 2020. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte -/File Photo

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankans lined up before polling stations opened on Wednesday, wearing masks and social distancing, to elect a new parliament that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hopes will clear the way for him to boost his powers.

The tourism-dependent island nation of 21 million people has been struggling since deadly militant attacks on hotels and churches last year, claimed by Islamic State, followed painful lockdowns to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.