The Fonseka Effect?
Cartoon by Dharshana Karunathilake, published in, 3 Jan 2010. Translation: General Fonseka (on left): “I promise to give you….” President Rajapaksa, interrupting: “Whatever he promises, I promise to give you all those!”…
Elections
Reflections on the Underlying Issues that Determine the Outcome of the Election: Who has got the Edge?
The Presidential election battle is gathering momentum with incredible speed. Defections and pledges of support to Sarath Fonseka (SF) have injected some nervousness for the Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) campaign. Â The challenge could…
From Politics of Fear to Politics of Hope
Thomas Hobbes John Piper I admit to being a political junkie. I get my news from multiple papers, news sites and web blogs. I react to reports on our nation’s politics with…
We can believe in NO candidate in 2010. What’s new though, right?
The big day is fast approaching, and every water-cooler, tea/cigarette break, meeting intermission is a hive of discussion on the latest thoughts on the election. But the whole run up to the…
Standing the world on its head!
I can’t understand this, so will someone explain it –please. It is being reported in the local press and local electronic media that the Rajapakses have gained popularity among Sinhala voters in…
“Believable Change†with unbelievable contradictions: Sarath Fonseka’s manifesto
[Authors note: Please also read Part 1 of this article] The much awaited manifesto of General (Rtd) Fonseka the Common Candidate launched on 7January which proves the Opposition Alliance is too loose…
Colour in Sri Lankan Politics
A particular aspect of Sri Lankan politics is color. Those days, there were two: Greens and Blues. Greens were to the right of centre and Blues to the left. There were some…
A letter to the President on his re-election campaign spending
Dear Mr. President, As a tax payer and citizen of Sri Lanka, I am deeply concerned by, , the wasteful nature of your campaign and the manner in which you have manipulated…
The Shocking Behaviour of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka
With frustrated resignation, Sri Lankans are used to how government departments (the Police in particular) and public property are misused and abused by the party in power during elections for partisan advantage….
“Believable Change†with unbelievable evasiveness: Sarath Fonseka’s manifesto
Part 1 The presidential election manifesto of the opposition Common Candidate General (Rtd) Sarath Fonseka was released on 7 January, 2009 at a media launch in Colombo, titled “Believable Change”. He says…
The Future Tamil Politics
Eelam War IV shattered and devastated Tamils social, economical, cultural and political structural factors. These four structural factors were corner stone’s of the Tamil National Struggle and were intricately interconnected to each…
Visualising Sarath Fonseka’s key campaign issues and manifesto
was republished in traditional print media and circulated widely over email because we seem to have hit a chord with many voters looking for an easy way to get to the core…
The Third Option
The year 2010 has dawned with two elections round the corner. As voters who are going to write the destiny of the politicians of this country, our day-to-day conversations are becoming more…
Concerns of first time voters in the 2010 presidential elections
In the upcoming presidential election a new voter base will be in play. A generation of first time voters whose futures will depend on the winner of next month’s election, are faced…
Paying global media for local elections
It is probably not the incumbent President himself in charge of the massive re-election campaign which has no qualms about misusing State property and public finances or perverting telecoms regulations to deliver propaganda…