A senior Sri Lankan minister accused social media giant Facebook on Monday (Nov 11) of censoring comments he made questioning the citizenship of presidential election frontrunner Gotabhaya Rajapakse. The nationality of Rajapakse, brother of former strongman president Mahinda, is a key issue ahead of voting Saturday as Sri Lankan law prohibits dual citizens from…
AFP - Nov 11 17:17 GMT - more ... [ Tags: Politics, Elections ]
Sri Lanka's ruling party presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa has asked the main opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa not to fuel communal hatred over his plans for the devolution of power to the Tamil minority. His comment came after Rajapaksa accused Premadasa of diluting the unitary character of the state by his plans for power devolution.
Times of India - Nov 09 16:15 GMT - more ... [ Tags: Politics, Elections ]
Following months of speculation, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s political camp appears to have come closer to finalising the candidate for the presidential race later this year. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Defence Secretary and a younger brother of the ex-President, is very likely to represent the clan and its followers, political sources told The Hindu. Mr.…
Hindu - Mar 19 15:43 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, SriLanka, Elections ]
Sri Lanka is poised to become even more indebted to Beijing with the return of pro-China ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, after his newly formed Sri Lanka People's Front won a landslide victory at Saturday's local government elections. The victory for the party could see Sri Lanka flip back into the arms of China, Rajapaksa's favorite lender and builder. The current…
Nikkei - Feb 16 15:18 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: SriLanka, Elections, China ]
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have agreed to reshuffle the Cabinet, ending days of uncertainty over their coalition government’s future after a recent local poll debacle. The two leaders met late on Wednesday night. The discussions were “positive”, according to a top source present at the meeting. The source…
Hindu - Feb 15 13:41 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Colombo, Elections ]
Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa called on Monday for parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections to be held after a party backed by him won local council polls in the strongest rebuff yet to the unity government. The national election is not due until 2020 and under the constitution President Maithripala Sirisena can bring the vote forward only after…
Reuters - Feb 12 20:05 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Elections ]
Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera says the 2018 Local Authority Election is a timely wake up call for the good governance government. Issuing a statement Minister Samaraweera said the public has communicated that the good governance government has not done enough to ensure election promises made during the 2015 Presidential and General…
NR - Feb 12 17:02 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
The recently formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa seems to have swept a majority of the local government wards in the south at yesterday’s countrywide polls, according to early results that began trickling in late last night. However, in some councils though the SLPP won most of the wards under the FPP (First Past…
Sunday Tims - Feb 12 16:52 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa called on Monday for parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections to be held after a party backed by him won local council polls in the strongest rebuff yet to the unity government. The national election is not due until 2020 and under the constitution President Maithripala Sirisena can bring the vote forward only…
Reuters - Feb 12 16:45 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, Elections, WarCrimes ]
As Sri Lankans head to the polling stations for local government elections a few days after the official celebrations, they are starved for choice. Endorse a fractured, ineffective coalition government that can’t seem to get its acts together or cast a vote of confidence on a regime that was dethroned in 2015? We shall soon know but will we learn any lessons? At…
GV - Feb 08 14:59 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, Elections, WarCrimes ]
President highlights corruption issue in bid to prevent Rajapaksa’s breakaway party from gaining ground Bond Commission makes serious charges against Ravi, but he refuses to step down as UNP’s Assistant Leader Magistrate’s court issues orders relating to Mahendran and PTL’s Aloysius and Palisena; sub-judice issue on Tuesday’s debate possible With just…
Sunday Times - Feb 04 22:18 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: World, SriLanka, Elections ]
In an apparent effort to suppress public criticism of Sri Lanka dragging its feet on constitutional reforms, election authorities have unsuccessfully tried to ban a public meeting with international participation in the Tamil speaking northern town of Jaffna. Sri Lanka election commission has requested university authorities not to allow a political meeting to be…
JDS - Jan 18 17:39 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Jaffna, History, Elections ]
All 341 local councils of Sri Lanka could have a single-day polling in February, the country's election commission said on Friday. The polls would be the first key test for the unity government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe which is embroiled in a bitter infighting over a range of issues. The Sirisena faction of the…
PTI - Dec 01 20:06 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
President Maithripala Sirisena today nominated Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka for the Constitutional Council (CC) while Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe was nominated by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Constitutional Council comprises of seven parliamentarians and three representatives of civil organizations. The mandate of the CC is to establish nine…
Daily Mirror - Sep 09 10:20 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, SriLanka, Elections ]
Sri Lanka’s new cabinet was officially sworn in today. Most members are from the United National Party (UNP). With the formal establishment of a “national government,” the country’s two main political parties, the UNP and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) are now working together (although there had been some disagreement between the two parties over the…
The Diplomat - Sep 04 15:21 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Elections ]
I arrived in Sri Lanka on August 10, a week before the country’s August 17 parliamentary election. Our group of short-term international election observers would spend the first few days in Colombo, the capital, before heading out to the locations from which we’d be monitoring the election. Shortly after my arrival in Colombo, I learned that I would be in…
The Diplomat - Aug 31 20:27 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Elections ]
Sri Lankan voters have snubbed former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the second time in months. On January 8, Rajapaksa was ousted from power in the presidential election, an upset that denied him a third term as the island’s president.Accordingly, UNP chief Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as prime minister on August 21. Wickremesinghe has held the post since…
Diplomat - Aug 31 18:37 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
After the din of recently concluded general election in Sri Lanka is over, the United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as Sri Lanka’s prime minister. He is poised to work with a national unity government. There are eight takeaways from the election and its aftermath that can help in visualising the future course of events in the island…
SAAG - Aug 27 13:58 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Elections ]
What the Tamils expected from the TNA after May 2009 was unique. While legally it had to function as a political party within the Sri Lankan system, the Tamils expected the TNA to also negotiate with the Sri Lanka government as an elected representative of a people – of a nation if you may. Up to now the TNA has not played that role well. But with the TNA’s…
Asian Correspondent - Aug 24 17:48 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, Elections, TNA ]
The new government in Sri Lanka should take up, as its immediate priority, the full implementation of the 13 Constitutional Amendment and recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, Vickramabahu Karunarathne, general secretary of the Nava Sama Samaj Party, has said. Apart from these measures, he favoured the setting up of a credible…
Hindu - Aug 24 10:34 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
AT THE height of Sri Lanka’s parliamentary campaign, footage taken with a mobile phone went viral. It showed Mahinda Rajapaksa, an authoritarian former president running to become an MP, lunging at a member of the public, his fists clenched, before aides pulled him away. The short film suggested that Mr Rajapaksa already knew things were going badly for his group,…
The Economist - Aug 20 13:37 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Elections, WarCrimes ]
Sri Lanka’s nationwide local government election has produced some troubling results. The Sri Lanka People’s Front, a new party backed by former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa – who ruled in an increasingly authoritarian fashion from 2005 to 2015 – won convincingly. The election results are another example of the former president’s continued relevance in the…
Diplomat - Mar 05 11:45 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, History, Elections ]
2020, when the next presidential election will be held, is the year to look out for. Due to tenure regulations, Mahinda Rajapaksa will be unable to contest the current presidency. But in this year’s election Rajapaksa has showed that he is still popular. Perhaps one of his brothers will become a presidential candidate. The UNP might drop their support for President…
OpenDemocracy - Feb 15 14:51 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
Few would have predicted the results of Sri Lanka’s local government elections in 2018. With the benefit of hindsight, we must now try to understand what happened and why. There are three lessons to be learnt from the results – one lesson for voters, one for the coalition Government, and one for Mahinda Rajapaksa himself.The local government elections of 2018 will…
FT - Feb 13 17:17 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, SriLanka, Elections ]
No Sri Lankan will be sent to the electric chair during my tenure, assured President Maithripala Sirisena. The President was addressing UPFA supporters at a rally held in Hakmana last evening. The President gave this assurance in response to the fear allayed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa while attending a television programme the previous day ‘that he…
CDN - Feb 12 17:29 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, Elections, WarCrimes ]
Several Cabinet Ministers representing the SLFP have expressed willingness to join the UNP, sources within the UNP confirmed, a short while ago. This comes in the wake of a landslide defeat suffered by the SLFP at the Local Government polls. It is learnt that these Ministers are not willing to join the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramun, mainly due to personal reasons. …
Asian Mirror - Feb 12 17:00 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
President Maithripala Sirisena has told SLFP ministers who met him yesterday that he would introduce far reaching changes to the government following the LG polls results in the days to come. “I take full responsibility for the SLFP’s electoral setback. The people of the country have voted for a change and I will respond positively to their message and…
Daily Mirror - Feb 12 16:47 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
Both governing parties were in soul-searching mode, struggling to figure out their next moves and make changes in time to make sure Mr. Rajapaksa’s party does not ride discontent with the government to victory in the presidential election in 2019. Coalition members were clear that both ruling parties were facing a wave that would be difficult to reverse. Members…
NYT - Feb 12 16:44 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
Some 15.8 million Sri Lankans will vote in the country’s third tier elections on February 10, 2018 to chose 8,293 members to 341 local bodies, namely 24 municipal councils, 41 urban councils and 276 pradeshiya sabhas or divisional councils. A mixed electoral system will be followed wherein 60 per cent of the members will be elected on a ‘first-past-the-post’…
Business Line - Feb 07 14:41 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Elections ]
On Feb.10, Sri Lankans will go to the polls to vote for their local representatives. But the outcome of these village elections will have much wider repercussions as they will ultimately determine if China will play a bigger role in Sri Lanka's development. The battle for Sri Lanka's heartlands is being fought out by the country's twice defeated pro-China former…
Nikkei - Feb 02 19:34 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: SriLanka, Elections, China ]
Postal voting for local government bodies began in nine districts today. Commissioner General of Elections, Director General Elections, R.M.A.L. Rathnayake speaking to Daily News explained that they had sent ballot papers for postal voting in the districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Batticaloa. In addition to those, they had also…
CDN - Jan 12 20:49 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
Experienced community organizer and public servant Piragal Thiru announced today his intention to seek the nomination of the Ontario Liberal Party in Scarborough-Rouge River. “I consider it a great privilege to be able to put forward my candidacy to represent a riding that is home to so many hard working Ontarians”, said Thiru. “Scarborough-Rouge River is a…
Piragalthiru.com - Mar 24 10:25 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Canada, Elections ]
Days after Sri Lanka formed its first unity government, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today said he is ready to shed all differences with the rival UNP to "herald an era of a new political culture". Recalling the rivalry between his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) - to which Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe belongs,…
PTI - Sep 08 10:37 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Elections ]
The first sitting of Sri Lanka’s new parliament took place this week amidst some uncertainty. Following the United National Party (UNP) election victory, negotiations continue on the formation of a national government, with a number of MPs from the opposition Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) expected to be given ministerial portfolios. The new cabinet is yet to be…
New Internationalist - Sep 03 11:40 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, Elections ]
The United States has agreed to grant US$ 3.2 million for the development of schools in the Eastern Province. The signing of the agreement took place under the patronage of Eastern Province Governor Austin Fernando at his office Friday. David Christine of the U.S. Embassy in Colombo and Chief Secretary of the Eastern Province Sarath Abeygunawardena signed the…
GoSL - Aug 31 18:43 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: USA, SriLanka, Elections ]
Sri Lankan film actress Geetha Kumarasinghe has claimed that she renounced her Swiss nationality to qualify for August parliamentary elections, but election officials said they need to verify the time line of her purported action. Kumarasinghe in statements to newspapers on Friday claimed she asked Swiss authorities to strip her foreign nationality and applied for…
Economy Next - Aug 29 10:59 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, SriLanka, Elections ]
In the wake of the August 17 parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka, Tamil nationalist parties are serving as key props for President Maithripala Sirisena in his attempt to install a new pro-US regime in Colombo. The TNA is aggressively backing Sirisena—who was installed in a US-backed regime change operation in the January 8 presidential elections—as he attempts to…
WSWS - Aug 26 14:35 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: Politics, SriLanka, Elections ]
It is time for some deep reflection within Sri Lanka. On the one hand the democratic process has been well managed and with very little violence. That is itself a credit to a country and its people that have witnessed traumatic times for close to three decades. That Mr. Rajapakse will be a Member of Parliament and is quite strong within the Sinhala community means…
Eurasia Review - Aug 24 14:01 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: History, SriLanka, Elections ]
The new government must focus on the urgent task of national reconciliation. That will be a broad offensive, one that includes justice for individuals who suffered from war crimes during the Tamil insurgency and more political representation for minority groups, as well as the safeguarding of minority rights in general. Of course, economic development has to be part…
Japan Times - Aug 21 17:37 GMT - more ...
[ Tags: SriLanka, Elections, WarCrimes ]
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