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…
Elections
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…
The September Political Turn: Some Reflections
For the first time in history, the Sri Lankan people have elected a leftist as their president. The left, with its long history, has sought power through both armed insurrections and the…
Sri Lanka’s Political Moment in 2024: Part 1
Jazeera In the wake of the National People’s Power (NPP) party’s remarkable victory in the 2024 presidential election, some observers have been quick to attribute the result to a protest vote against…
The Implications of the Presidential Election on National Unity
Elections are often about creating divisions within the electorate and channeling power to the majority opinion. Sri Lanka’s ninth presidential election concluded with an unprecedented result, signaling a new chapter in the…
A New Dawn for Sri Lanka’s Democracy and Future
Sri Lanka’s 2024 presidential election has marked a historic shift in the political landscape with Anura Kumara Dissanayake securing a decisive victory. The election is seen as a resounding rejection of the…
Election Result – A Particular Understanding
An analysis of the results of the recent presidential election can be approached in different ways with different political purposes. This short piece is based on my interest in conflicts. I am…
Democratic World to Sri Lanka: Thanks for Your Election
Following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 American presidential elections, these and many similar ideas about “democracy under threat” have dominated public and private conversations among democrats globally. There is a real…
The Challenges in Ensuring Free, Fair and Peaceful Elections
Incidents of election violence escalated significantly in September, culminating in a murder and a potential second incident. Ninety six violations were recorded on September 15 alone. Arson, assault, threats and the misuse…
Towards a Programmatic Politics
Photo courtesy The Hindu I write this two days before Sri Lanka elects its 9th executive president. Whether it will be NPP, SJB or Ranil Wickremesinghe who comes into power is to…
Presidential Candidates Ignore the Scourge of Enforced Disappearances
None of the three leading presidential candidates have directly addressed the issue of enforced disappearances despite the fact that Sri Lanka has the second highest number of disappeared people reported to the…
AKD and the NPP Campaign for System Renewal
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, AKD as popularly known, is currently leading National People Power (NPP) movement for a system change and social renewal from the bottom up including economic, political, cultural and ideological…
