Presidential Election 2015

[Cabinet Media Spokesperson Minister Rajitha Senaratne] Speaking at the Cabinet media briefing today, Cabinet Media Spokesperson Minister Rajitha Senaratne elaborated on a new electoral system. The Minister added that a decision was arrived at following discussions between the President, Attorney General, Elections Commissioner and relevant factions, to introduce a new electoral system. The president had […]

By Izeth Hussain– The recent Nugegoda rally in favour of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa would of course have been meticulously organized, but all the same the immensity of the crowd that assembled there was beyond dispute immensely impressive. It becomes all the more impressive when we bear in mind that the organizers did not have […]

The new government of Sri Lanka has made the draft for Right to Information Act available for the people for their feed back. The draft has come under criticism from some activists  on the basis that it does not provide full disclosure and secrecy clauses are too wide. The draft RTI of Sri Lanka: Draft […]

the guardian./ason Burke in Colombo Maithripala Sirisena’s election victory in January has brought optimism to Colombo after nine years of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s controversial and divisive rule Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena gestures to supporters after speaking outside the Buddhist Temple of Tooth in the central town of Kandy, Sri Lanka. President Maithripala Sirisena gestures to […]

[Dayan Jayatilleke reading Rajapaks’s message at the meeting] by Achintaka – Yesterday’s rally in Nugegoda organised by the hard-core Sinhala nationalists, i.e. Weerawansa, Dinesh, Gammanpila and Vasudeva with the blessings of former President Mahinda Rajapakse and their pseudo intellectual appendage Dayan Jayatilleke reminds us that the politicians who made a life out of Sinhala communalism/nationalism […]

A political goal that warrants sustained attention of the new Sri Lankan government as well as the democratic reform constituencies is the rebuilding of public institutions of democratic governance, accountability, autonomy, and checks and balances. Democratic governance requires the presence of institutions of governance that are strong enough to withstand the pressures of authoritarian regimes […]

A committee is to be appointed on a directive of the President in order to commence a programme to release lands in the North back to civilians, a presidential media statement said quoting State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene in Vavuniya. Wijewardene was quoted as saying the lands in the North and East Provinces would […]

by Rajan Philips- “We have failed in the essential task of nation building,” said President Chandrika Kumaratunga in her speech to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence. That was in 1998. Seventeen years later, on Independence Day last week, President Maithripala Sirisena soul searchingly spoke of our “great responsibility and duty … today […]

by Thalif Deen – UNITED NATIONS, Feb 6 2015 (IPS) – Sri Lanka’s newly-installed government, which has pledged to set up its own domestic tribunal to investigate war crimes charges, is seeking political and moral support both from the United States and the United Nations to stall a possible international investigation. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera […]

[Rajapaksa speaking to supporters at his home after the defeat] by Kalana Senavirathana – In the early weeks of November 2014, it seemed somewhat clear that Mahinda Rajapaksa was set to rule the country for at least another six years. But on January 8, 2015 when he finally went to cast his vote with the […]

President Sirisena has issued a Gazette Notification under  calling members of the Armed Forces to  maintain the  of public order in all 25 districts of Sri Lanka. After repealing the state of emergency on 30th August  2011 them President Rajapaksa too issued the identical Gazette Notification. The Gazette  had been issued on 6th August. Here […]

[ Mr.Sirisena] The President stressed that the epithet ‘His Excellency’ should not proceed his name, when any reference is made to him. Likewise, when referring to his wife, the term ‘First Lady’ should be avoided. The President should be referred to as Mr Maithripala Sirisena while his wife should be referred to as Mrs.Maithripala Sirisena, […]

By Sunday Times Political Editor- PM directs Minister of State for Defence to conduct full probe, CID detectives question retired senior military officers More details of heavily armed private security companies conducting election work for Rajapaksa National Executive Council finalises Constitutional changes; Maithripala to retain some executive powers; Ranil to head government Prime Minister Ranil […]

The National Executive Council today approved the formation of a special unit to investigate the attacks on the media over the past couple of years. National Executive Council member and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the special unit will investigate the murder of journalists Lasantha Wickremethunga and Dharmeratnam Sivaram, the […]

 You said Chief Justice was present at Temple Trees and that his name was brought up in connection with the alleged coup. Could you tell a bit more about this situation? He admitted to us that he was there. He said that he went to see the losing President. He couldn’t deny his presence there, […]

[General Sarath Fonseka] According to the information we have, even before Election Day the Army Commander, under the instructions of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Chief of Defence Staff, had planned something fishy. They got down some 2000 extra troops to Colombo and planned to deploy them in Colombo. […]

[ 43rd CJ is  about to make a comeback but for a short time] by Dharisha Bastians – Two years ago on 15 January, the Rajapaksa Government had to deploy elite police guards, water cannons and barricades to install Mohan Peiris in the Chief Justice’s chair at Hulftsdorp. As police prevented lawyers and journalists from […]

[Supporters of victorious opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena celebrate in Colombo ( Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images) ]  Updated by Amanda Taub – In retrospect, former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa probably regrets his decision to campaign for reelection on the slogan that voters should stick with his administration because he was a “known devil” and his opponent […]

[Ranil Wickremesinghe speaking at the parliament today] Ranil Wickremesinghe:Radical Changes to the Constitution “I specially mention that the solution would not be detrimental to the unitary status of the country. We will introduce the 19th Amendment to the constitution repealing the provisions of the 18th amendment to establish independent commissions and bring about a solution […]

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), based on credible information, reports that Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) is facing an estimated loss of a staggering Rs. 140 million due to providing buses for the transportation of the general public to the rallies and meetings organized by the UPFA Presidential candidate former President Mahinda Rajapakse during the […]

Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) strongly condemns the attack on Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) office in Agalawatte and the assault of a Pradesheeya Sabha member on Sunday by United National Party (UNP) MP Palitha Thewarapperuma. According to information received Thewarapperuma arrived with a group of supporters and disrupted an event to mark […]

By now the narrative of a peaceful transition of power between former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the newly elected government has largely taken root. Newspapers, television airtime and the Internet are abuzz with photographs of President Rajapaksa humbly leaving Temple Trees even before the final election results were announced. There are no pictures of the […]

Dharisha Bastians– ‘By all accounts, Asia’s oldest democracy stood at grave risk one week ago. The courage of a few public servants and military chiefs, who decided at the eleventh hour that the time was right to speak truth to power, may have saved the day. Without their determination, Sri Lankans may well have woken […]

[Sri Lankan Muslim women leave after casting their votes at a polling station during the presidential elections in Colombo, Sri Lanka (Photo: AP)] There were many firsts in the election of President Maithripala Sirisena in Sri Lanka: An incumbent president was defeated; parties specifically representing different races and religious groups — the Jathika Hela Urumaya […]

[Who will speak for them: agitating students in Sri Lanka] by Dr. Ranga Kalansooriya – I was watching a political ‘debate’ on a private TV channel last night, but got entirely confused and frightened. What used to be a heated debate earlier has turned out to be a non-debate, where all participants were taking a […]

Speaking at at a Press conferences  old left allies of the defeated Rajapaksa regime had  blamed the ‘  highly centralized SLFP propaganda project for the defeat’ reports the Island. The mammoth propaganda machine of their presidential election was run by Rajapaksa siblings and sons. Further he had said that the The Media Ministry had pathetically […]

by Vishawamithra 1984 – “Nationalism is power hunger tempered by self-deception.” -George Orwell Yes, he did. It was not only a hope or wish. It was a strong conviction and belief that he would win and win convincingly. He was a hardened “street-smart“ politician with over 45 years of experience in politics. He had held […]

The next few steps look anything but orderly TAKE nothing for granted in Sri Lankan politics. Early on January 9th, to the surprise of almost everybody, Mahinda Rajapaksa conceded defeat in the presidential election conducted the day before. He promised an orderly transition of power and won praise for his unexpected graciousness. In the days […]

President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a new cabinet today and  swearing ceremony took place  at the Presidential Secretariat. The  new cabinet Prime Mininser Ranil Wickremesinghe – Minister of Planning and Economic Development John Amaratunga – Minister of Law and Order, disaster management and Christian religious affairs Joseph Michael Perera – Minister of Home Affairs Gamini Jayawickrema […]

 by Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) January 2015 CMEV continued to monitor the post election situation and note several incidents reported in the period 9-12 January. At present CMEV has recorded 11 major incidents and 6 incidents in the post poll period. There is one casualty from post poll violence and several instances of […]