Power To The People
Reflecting on the recent elections in both Sri Lanka and the US is an interesting exercise particularly because, as the two countries now have synchronized election cycles, comparisons and contrasts are readily…
Elections
An Election That Signals the Transition to a New Political Culture
The presidential and parliamentary elections of 2024 have clearly sent strong signals of a clear change in the political landscape in Sri Lanka. On September 21, the country elected Anura Kumara Dissanayake…
A Magic Wand
The Grimm version is known wider but the Turkish one cuts deeper. In both tales, the boy goes in search of fear and finds a crown. In the Grimm version, fear comes…
NPP’s Historic Victory Sparks Hope and Unity
Sri Lanka stands on the brink of a transformative era. The National People’s Power (NPP), under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has secured a historic two thirds majority in parliament.…
Will the Parliamentary Election Result Add to System Change?
The parliamentary election on November 14 is going to be like no other in Sri Lanka’s post independence history. Like the presidential election held on September 21, it will be another ground…
Decoding Falsehoods of Online Information During Elections
The 2024 presidential election marked the first major electoral event following the aragalaya and the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The election highlighted the country’s shifting political landscape, moving away from traditional…
NPP and Women’s Parliamentary Representation
Leading political parties, mostly in the Sinhala speaking south, are known to loudly proclaim the need to elect more women to parliament. The reality has not caught up with that political rhetoric.…
Voters Want More Government Spending on Health and Education
As Sri Lanka approaches the general election, the Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) polling reveals strong voter support for prioritising increased government spending on health and…
Towards Stability, Equity and Prosperity in Sri Lanka – Part 5
As I have previously pointed out, although IMF programmes appear to solely focus on development, they do not cater to or deal with matters that affect socio-economic justice and a fair go.…
Towards Stability, Equity and Prosperity in Sri Lanka – Part 4
Former president Ranil Wickremesinghe has asked the voters to elect members with experience back to the parliament at the Nov 14 election. He alleges that those who have worked with him in…
Towards Stability, Equity and Prosperity in Sri Lanka – Part 3
The public appears to be pleased with most of the measures the president and the interim cabinet have taken. Yet there is much more to be done. The recent allegations made against…
The Need for Stable Government and Strong Opposition
Sri Lanka stands at a critical juncture in its political and economic history. As the country prepares for the parliamentary elections on November 14 with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s party, the National…
Towards Stability, Equity and Prosperity in Sri Lanka – Part 2
The interim NPP government wants to make negotiated changes to the IMF conditionalities already agreed upon by the previous regime. If that is not feasible, the NPP will have to move away…
A New Script for Tamil Politics in Sri Lanka?
Tamil politics in Sri Lanka has entered uncharted territory. The cracks in Tamil politics had been evident for some time but with the September 21 presidential elections, it has broken into fragments.…
Towards Stability, Equity and Prosperity in Sri Lanka – Part 1
The victory of the NPP at the recent presidential election has changed the political landscape of the country. It has given rise to the expectation of a novel and fundamentally different approach…