#PresPollSL

The people have spoken. President-elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been given a mandate by the people to govern the country for the next five years. The Elections Commission, public employees, Police and the voters deserve credit for the conduct of a free and fair Presidential Election where a record number turned out to exercise their franchise. […]

Who is winning? This seems to be the question many people these days are keen to find an answer to. Whenever this question is put to me, my usual answer is one that disappoints the interlocutor: “It is difficult to say. But I can tell you a little bit about what I speculate as the […]

The winner of Sri Lanka’s upcoming presidential elections could change the nature of India’s relationship with its neighbour. India’s Buddhist neighbours, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, are preparing for fresh elections in the coming months. While Sri Lanka’s presidential elections are just around the corner, Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi is preparing to face the electorate […]

Image: Tamils being attacked in 1958 ethnic violence in Sri Lanka. Since then ethnic violence has been permanent feature in post independent Sri Lanka. The terrorist attacks that took place on the 21st Sunday 2019 caused grave loss and damage to many Sri Lankans. The multiple explosions island wide, including those that followed over the next […]

 (Dr) Jayampathy Wickramaratne, President’s Counsel and Member of Parliament. There is speculation that Parliament will be dissolved. Arguments have been made for and against the right of the President to dissolve Parliament at will, at any time. The Golden rule It is a golden rule that in interpreting a Constitution, the Constitution as a whole […]

Continuing his swift disastrous strike last Friday, President Maithripala Sirisena has taken a familiar problem of public fury with an inept and malfunctioning Government to a perilously extra-constitutional trajectory, prompting deep revulsion on the part of even those strongly critical of many follies of the United National Party (UNP). Repercussions of the President’s actions This […]

Ports and Shipping Minister and SLFP spokesman Mahinda Samarasinghe Thursday (Oct 4) insisted President Maithripala Sirisena wouldn’t give in to Western pressure under any circumstances. Samarasinghe, the former human rights envoy of the previous Rajapaksa administration said so at the regular SLFP briefing at its T.B. Jayah Mawatha office when the media sought an explanation […]

Former Secretary to the then Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, has held him and Lt. Commander Sumith Ranasinghe accountable if 11 children had gone missing after being abducted. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday (26), informed Colombo Fort Acting Magistrate Deemani Baddewela that Rear Admiral Shamal Fernando, the former Secretary to former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, […]

by S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole. The Anti-Mahaweli Tamils’ Heritage Forum submitting a petition to Mullaitivu District Secretary Ms. Ketheeswaran on ‘Colonization’ The Anti-Mahaweli Tamils’ Heritage Forum submitting a petition to Mullaitivu District Secretary Ms. Ketheeswaran on ‘Colonization’ We in the North fear the troops. It is just not Tamils. We have seen viral videos of […]

January 8 is remembered for change. First there was the brutal killing in broad daylight of Journalist and Editor Lasantha Wickramatunga who stood out exposing the excesses of the Rajapaksa regime. Lasantha was killed in a high -security environment near an armed forces installation. He died brave and unbowed. By the Aluth Avurudda in April […]

By S. Rubatheesan. Meant to be a temporary stop, Keppapilavu feels like the end of the line. Three years after Thiruchelvan Ketheeswaran arrived in Keppapilavu village in Mullaitivu to start a new life for his family, his hopes are crumbling. image1-(4) Ketheeswaran was among the thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) resettled in a brand-new […]

CID bust massive money transaction during Presidential election; Rs. 149 million transferred from Chinese company’s accounts; Money used for T-shirts and caps sporting MR badges. The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is investigating a case where the China Harbour Engineering Company has allegedly handed over a staggering Rs. 149 million to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s election […]

Sri Lanka appeared to turn a new leaf with the election in January 2015 of President Maithripala Sirisena. This put an end to rule of this country of 21 million people by Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is closely associated with a brutal 2009 victory over the Tamil Tiger insurgency and authoritarian government. Alan Keenan discusses how […]

(EconomyNext) The much awaited talks between President Maithripala Sirisena and his arch rival predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa ended without a deal Wednesday, but the meeting sent triggered deep anxiety within the ruling ranks. The talking partners did not issue formal statements after the hour-long meeting at the parliamentary complex, but official sources said the first encounter […]

To: All Honourable Members of Parliament. An earnest request to the Sri Lankan Parliamentarians:Support the passage of the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution As you debate the above Constitutional Amendment in the Parliament under challenging circumstances, we thought that it is important to encourage you to see to its successful passage. One of the […]

At the conclusion of the 100 day programme of Sri Lanka’s new Government we thought it would be timely to issue an update to Sri Lanka Campaign yardstick document, which attempts to track the extent of meaningful change with respect to Sri Lanka’s human rights situation. Shortly after the election of President Maithripala Sirisena and […]

It is amidst an impending parliamentary election that more details of abuses and irregularities at the January presidential election are now emerging. A shocking revelation is how the assets of Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) were allegedly used like a local taxi service by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his family members and a few onetime […]

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake today charged that President Maithripala Sirisena was behind the statements made by Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka and MPs Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Nimal Siripala de Silva against the 19th Amendment. “The silence of President Sirisena reflects that he is behind the attempts against the 19th Amendment. […]

Daya Ratnayake was Gota’s main man. Gota’s wish was Daya’s command. Daya really was just what Gota needed. There wasn’t a thing Daya wouldn’t do for him. He let out battalions of soldiers to attend Gota’s personal tasks, he cleaned his crime scenes, blurred the numbers in his corruption. If Gota wanted to borrow a […]

Fulfilling her wish to come back to her political home, President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed  Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga as the chair of the policy and planning committee of the SLFP that will fully reorganize the party. This will strengthen President Sirisena’s hold on the SLFP and completely  block Mahinda Rajapaksa  capturing the power through […]

Ravi says moves underway to recover plundered billions, names to be revealed. Billions of rupes enough to bridge 75 per cent of the Budget deficit have been illegally deposited in three countries – Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland — by leaders of the former government and top officials, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told […]

by Nalaka Gunawardene – After many years of advocacy by civil society, Sri Lanka is set to adopt a law that guarantees citizens’ Right to Information (RTI). With that, we will at last catch up with nearly 100 countries that have introduced such progressive laws. Better late than never – but passing the law is only a beginning. […]

[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 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 […]

By Rajiva Wijesinha – After Rev Sobitha’s very inspired remarks about the need to fulfil our promises rather than think about elections, I had a searching interview with ARTV, which helped my ideas to crystallize. I was also a bit upset, because I gathered that the UNP hierarchy was meeting at Temple Trees to discuss […]

GENEVA (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s new government won a six-month delay on Monday in the publication of a report on alleged war crimes, after the U.N. human rights chief praised its willingness to open the country up to scrutiny. Sri Lankan government forces have been accused of widespread human rights violations in the final stages […]

[Samaraweera speaking at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ] Sri Lanka’s foreign minister met with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, and U.N. diplomatic sources said he pressed his government’s desire to delay the release of a U.N. report on alleged war crimes during his country’s civil war. In their meeting at U.N. headquarters in […]

Writing an open letter to Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein Tamil Civil Society group headed by Rev. Bishop Rayappu Joseph ask him not to trust the new Sri Lanka government on proposed domestic investigation. “We wish to respectfully urge you not to take any promise for domestic investigations seriously, particularly in the absence of […]

Feb 13, Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today assured the diplomatic community that his government will not hesitate to punish the offenders of human rights violations said to have taken place during the war after the conduct of a credible domestic inquiry through a judicial process into the allegations. Meeting with the diplomatic corps […]