Gotabaya Rajapaksa: A Two Year Timeline
To coincide with the end of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s second year in office, the Centre for Policy Alternatives produced a video timeline detailing some of the defining moments of the President’s past…
20th Amendment
2020: The Highlights
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Reform the Proposed 20th Amendment to Strengthen, Not Weaken, Transparency and Public Oversight
Following parliamentary elections, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wasted no time in obtaining cabinet approval and thereafter gazetting the proposed 20th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. Many commentators have noted how…
The 20A: A Very Wrong Approach to Constitution-Making
Photo Courtesy of Midday The proposed 20th Amendment has several major defects. One of its key faults is that its sponsors and framers have chosen a very wrong approach to constitution making.…
20A is a Political Blunder
Déjà vu? Once upon a time, a mighty government with a two-thirds majority in parliament engaged in political opportunism, and radically changed the constitution of Sri Lanka. It ignored more than a…
And Then They Ruled Happily Ever After?
Photo courtesy of Twitter Think of it as the Rajapaksa fairy tale. Mother Lanka is captured by the messy and wobbly monster called Democracy. The Rajapaksa brothers and sons rescue her by…
End to Sri Lanka’s Democracy: Shouldn’t it be Resisted?
The debate on the proposed 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s 1978 Constitution is gathering momentum. The proposal which has been published in the Government Gazette is indeed a constitutional bombshell, literally. Its…
The 20th Amendment: Building a Future and Forgetting the Past
At the ceremonial opening of our first Parliament on 4th February, 1948 Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike addressed the nation with these words: “It is true that no people can live…
20th Amendment, Sovereignty of The People and The Need for Approval at A Referendum
Photo courtesy New Indian Express The 20th Amendment to the Constitution Bill (20A) has been published. If I were to describe it in one sentence the 20th Amendment seeks to take the…
The Perspective of Law Students on the Proposed 20th Amendment (Video)
The proposed 20th Amendment to the constitution seeks to repeal/amend all changes introduced by the 19th Amendment save three. They are the retention of five-year terms for the President and Parliament, the…
The End of Free and Fair Elections
The proposed 20th amendment will be the death of free and fair elections in Sri Lanka. The study of political communications and digital propaganda for over a decade leaves no room for…
