Leaders are recognised, not discovered! - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka is a country that needs some fresh air in the field of politics. Many feel so when they see some very old faces running for presidency at the upcoming polls.

Misleading the Tamils on devolution

The minority Tamils of Sri Lanka have been promised devolution of power since the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord was signed in 1987. The J.R. Jayewardene government even got the 13th Amendment (13A) to the Constitution passed by an overwhelming majority in Parliament.

A Rational Structure of Government–Who Is Offering It?

Over the past 50 years or so, every Sri Lankan president has followed a non-rational approach to the formation of government. This prompted Verité Research to draft a “blueprint for rational government” and present it to the major candidates (or their parties) in the lead up to this Presidential Election.

Spreading the spirit of charity through works of Mother Teresa

While media coverage is largely on the Presidential Election which is to be held on September 21, today marks an important day on the calendar– that is the International Day of Charity.

Governance is second, building economy comes first President Wickremesinghe

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his ‘Ask Me Anything Session’

How JVP/ NPP govt begins… and ends

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna/National People’s Power candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake rides high on opinion polls, social media posts, Twitter and Facebook likes and the crowd size.

Presidential poll amid false promises, growing despair

Campaigning at this year’s presidential elections is now in full swing. The candidates who matter have all produced their manifestos of things they will do in the event they do succeed at reaching that all- important 50%+1 votes at the poll. It is also highly unlikely any candidate will be able to reach this magical figure after the first count of ballots.

Supporting common candidate or main candidate: Tamil politics in a fix today

At Sri Lankan presidential elections, the Northern and Eastern provinces where Tamil and Muslim minorities are concentrated matter a lot. The vote base in all seven provinces outside the North and the East is dominated by the majority Sinhalese community. When it’s split, more or less, down the middle at a presidential election, minority constituents from the North and the East virtually determine the winner.

The other three candidates come with serious, troubled pasts, I do not - Namal

SLPP Presidential candidate Namal Rajapaksa, who stepped surprisingly into the Presidential race, said that although he comes with the ‘Rajapaksa’ tag, his thinking is new and different and that he would try to win back their voters who had been hurt during the Gotabaya Rajapaksa era.

Kolkata doctor’s rape-murder: Is it just one pervert or a whole mafia?

India has a highly publicised, shocking rape case (or rape and murder) once every few years.

Why only Fowzie? - EDITORIAL

The Colombo High Court on August 27 sentenced former Minister A.H.M. Fowzie for two years of rigorous imprisonment and suspended it for 10 years after he pleaded guilty over the charge of misusing a vehicle belonging to the Disaster Management Ministry.

Mass Protests – Role of the Deep State and the Fifth Estate

First it was Sri Lanka, and then, after two years, the same sequence of events in Bangladesh. One can argue that, having learnt lessons from its neighbours, Indonesia avoided the calamity within days.

73 year-old SLFP swallowed by SJB, UNP

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) was established on September 2, 1951. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike left the United National Party (UNP), following his resignation from both his Cabinet portfolio and the UNP’s unofficial deputy leadership in July 1951, to form the new party.

Complying with RTI Act on foreign financing is important

Large infrastructure projects of the government are often financed by foreign loans and grants. When the amount exceeds USD 100,000, the law requires information about the projects to be disclosed to the public online.

Elections,Debt Sustainability and IMF Blackmail

The presidential election on September 21st is gaining momentum, and the candidates are debating the future of the IMF agreement.

A country like no other in election mode - EDITORIAL

Ours is a special country. We have many firsts to our name. We gave the world its first woman Prime Minister -Ms. Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

The Common Tamil Presidential Candidate Controversy

The eagerly anticipated 2024 presidential election is scheduled to be held on September 21, 2024. Initially, 39 candidates were in the fray.

How experienced leaders made a total hash of things

The September 21 Presidential elections different from the past eight such elections held since 1982, in some aspects.

Economic melt-down, HR violations, and elections - EDITORIAL

In early 2022, Sri Lankans started experiencing 12-hour rolling power cuts and shortages of basics such as food, fuel, cooking gas and medicines to name a few. Desperate fathers and mothers searched hither and thither for infant food. Even vegetables grown in our fields were scarce.

Capturing the making of a modern Sri Lanka

When the civil war concluded in 2009 there were makers of short films who captured footage of celebrations on the street.

Presidential debates and promise audits: Sri Lankan democracy’s missing links

Remember the threat of a doomsday

While political leaders are promising heaven on earth in their intensified campaign for the Presidential Election on September 21,

Every generation gets the superhero it deserves!

Sri Lanka is a country where we see the occasional individual rise from poverty and then lift the rest of the clan out of misery.

Spotlight on OUSL VC for facilitating exam for overseas LLB students

Local students of the Open University of Sri Lanka are up in arms against the Vice Chancellor’s unprecedented move to hold an alternative examination for those who could not sit for the final LLB degree.

To re-democratize Sri Lanka, abolish Executive Presidency

As a voter and a stakeholder in the country’s governance and electoral system /process, the writer was enlivened by a clarion call in the press by a group of lawyers, academics and civil rights activists to abolish the Executive Presidency.

Spotlight on Aruwakkalu : Exposing loopholes, unfounded fears in Colombo’s waste management crisis

On Saturday (August 24), during the wee hours of the morning, a group of residents from Puttalam staged a protest at the Noor Nagar Railway station against the transportation of waste via train to the Aruwakkalu Sanitary Landfill site. A total of 20 containers of solid waste were dumped at the Aruwakkalu site as a trial under the Metro Colombo Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Plan.

How Sajith Premadasa’s gamble plays out against him, his party and the country

A rhetorical question: What difference would it have made if Sajith Premadasa delivered the speech Thalatha Athukorala did last week?

Are we an independent nation or a banana republic?

Our country is heading to the polls. On 21 September all of us eligible voters will be making a choice for one of the thirty-eight candidates whose name and symbol adorn the ballot papers. Some of these candidates will canvass only in particular districts reducing the electoral process to a farce.

Presidential Elections Realistic approaches matter more than ever

Political campaigns by the respective presidential candidates are gathering momentum in the run up to the presidential polls, scheduled for September 21. As usual what is again being heard from the election stage are promises aimed at giving concessions for people who endure hardships due to the high cost of living and lack of income generation opportunities.

Religious, civil society and academic community want balanced devolution of power to regions

This document has been compiled by members of religious and civil society and the academic community from all parts of the country after extensive discussion and consultations conducted over a period of several months. It is to be presented to the presidential candidates to include in their manifestos along with the pledge that they will support its implementation regardless of the outcome of the election.