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Home » NewsFormation of a National Government
This is the defining moment that could mark the turning point in Sri Lanka’s history. President Maithripala Sirisena and newly sworn-in Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe are seen watching the signing of a historic memorandum of understanding whereby the United National Party-led alliance and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party will come together to form a consensual [...]
Power struggle within SLFP, UPFA; split on the cards
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party faces an inevitable split, with a section set to support former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and sit as an opposition group in Parliament while the United People’s Freedom Alliance will take a decision today whether the alliance should continue or function as a separate group, the Sunday Times learns. This is [...]
Biswal here on Tuesday ahead of UNHRC probe report
The US State Department’s senior-most official handling the Sri Lanka desk will arrive in Colombo on Tuesday on an overnight visit for meetings with Sri Lankan leaders. Nisha Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, will meet Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera first on Tuesday morning and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe thereafter followed [...]
SLFP to decide on opp. leader
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) will decide on who should be the Opposition Leader in Parliament, a senior member said yesterday. The SLFP’s Senior Vice President, John Seneviratne, told the Sunday Times that he had handed over a report with recommendations to President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as party leader. Mr. Sirisena took full [...]
Racket deepens; Italy suspends job visas for Lankans
The Italian Embassy has put on hold job visas for Sri Lankans after it was revealed that applicants had been selected in questionable circumstances where large sums of money are alleged to have changed hands, officials said. They said that between 40 to 75 job visas in the domestic category were in limbo at the [...]
517,123 votes rejected; 3.3 m no show
More than half a million votes were rejected at Monday’s parliamentary elections mainly due to the lack of awareness among voters on the complicated voting process and a large number of candidates, most of whom were from independent groups, an official said. He said 517,123 or 4.42 percent of the votes cast were rejected. In addition, [...]
4 injured in post-poll clash
At least four persons including a pregnant woman suffered serious injuries when two groups with opposing political affiliations clashed in Kattandkudi on Friday, marking the most serious violent incident since the conclusion of Monday’s elections, police and independent polls observers said. The incident sparked-off during celebrations, following the announcement of a defeated candidate being named [...]
President vows ‘equality for all’
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said that all persons should live with equal dignity in all provinces. The President was speaking at a token distribution of land permits for displaced persons in Sampoor, where the government is now in the process of returning their lands. “I assure you that all displaced persons will be resettled in [...]
Who’s on the National list
Most of the 29 National List MPs appointed to Parliament are experienced politicians with a few newcomers. New entrants from the UNP include ex-Chairman of the UNP Malik Samarawickrema, IT Prof Ashubodha Marasinghe, Dr A.R.A. Hafees, Constitutional lawyer Jayampathi Wickremaratne, Attorney-at-Law M.H.M. Salman, ex-minister of NorthWestern Provincial Council M.H.M. Navavi and trade unionist Srinal De [...]
Thomson Foundation award for ST Assistant Editor
Namini Wijedasa, an Assistant Editor at the Sunday Times, won the 2014 Thomson Foundation South Asia Inquirer Award (Print Category) for her investigations into irregularities in the award of projects during the past several years. She receives her certificate from Nigel Baker, Chief Executive Officer of the Thomson Foundation, during a study tour to London. [...]
Blair to deliver Kadirgamar lecture
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will deliver the Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture 2015 tomorrow in Colombo. He will speak on the subject “Reconciliation in Sri Lanka and the Northern Ireland Experience”.The lecture will be held under the auspices of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS), the Chairman of which [...]
Enact election laws urgently to make campaign funding accountable: Elections Chief
Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya says election laws need to be amended urgently, so as to make election funding a more transparent process. “In future, political parties and candidates must be made to declare how much money they spend on election related activities, while there should be an audit of such funds as well,” said Commissioner Deshapriya. [...]
11 women MPs a poor result for electoral reform say activists
A total of 556 female candidates from 21 political parties and independent groups contested the general elections but only 11 of them won seats. That is a drop of two female members from the previous 225-seat parliament that already under-represented the 52 per cent-strong female population. These 11 women represent only 10 of the 22 electoral [...]
50 PC members including 3 Chief Ministers enter Parliament
Fifty vacancies have been created within the Provincial Councils (PC) when their members successfully contested the Parliamentary elections. Among the PC members who were elected to parliament at Monday’s general elections were three Chief Ministers from Uva, Sabaragamuwa and the Western Province. Along with Uva Chief Minister Harin Fernando, UNP PC members Ravi Samaraweera, Vadiwel Suresh [...]
Road engineer
fatally run overAn assistant engineer supervising work at a construction site on Leslie Ranagala Mawatha, Borella was run over and killed by a teenager driving a three-wheeler, a coroner’s court heard yesterday. The deceased, 54-year-old Thilak Dharmasiri Samaratunga a father to two from Pussellarupe in Deniyaya who was employed by the Colombo Municipal Council had [...]
Victors bask in new found glory as vanquished lick their wounds
Of those who contested the Parliamentary elections, over 40 lost their seats. While most of them were from the UPFA, there were others from the UNP, JVP and the ITAK. The Sunday Times spoke to some of the winners and losers who had been defeated despite years of experience as politicians. Young UNP MP Mayantha Dissanayake [...]
Safety of Lankans visiting Thailand assured despite blast: Envoy
Thailand’s Ambassador Nopporn Adchariyavanich has assured the safety of Sri Lankans wishing to travel to the country, following this week’s blast. Speaking to the Sunday Times, the Envoy stated that Thai Police had secured the area and are taking every measure to apprehend the perpetrators. He added that the Thailand’s Prime Minister had offered his condolences [...]
Defeated members creep into House amidst strong protests
An unprecedented number of defeated electoral candidates, predominantly from the Maithripala Sirisena-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), have leapfrogged into Parliament through the National List. Out of 12 UPFA National List MPs, seven had failed to garner sufficient support at the August 17 general election to enter Parliament. They were edged out by candidates from the [...]
UPFA loses its vote share in every district
1. The UPFA has lost its vote share in every district. The only district where it lost less than 10% was Hambantota. In 11 of 22 districts, it lost more than 20% of its 2010 vote. 2. The UNP had its 2nd largest gains (24%) in Polonnaruwa — the home base of President Maithripala Sirisena. [...]
Voting centres to be more disabled-friendly in future: Elections Chief
Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said the experiences from the last two elections have shown that polling booths must have more facilities for physically challenged persons. “We did our best to provide facilities to those with physical disabilities, but more needs to be done,” he said. The Commissioner said the law prohibiting the entry of unauthorised vehicles [...]
Ho hum, another election, said stay-home Jaffna voters
On Monday, the people of Jaffna began their day-to-day businesses, apparently forgetting it was election day and that they should be heading for the polling booths. It took nearly one hour after the polling booths opened at 7am for people to flock in numbers to cast their votes. Voting went well until mid-afternoon when an unexpected [...]
Family jewels on parade in new parliament
Ancestry and genealogy have played a massive role in electing parliamentarians in this week’s polls. A large proportion of the legislature is made up of relatives and descendants of former political bigwigs. The most prominent family ties are those of the Rajapaksa clan. Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has returned to the chamber with his son, Namal. [...]
Urgent reform of electoral laws needed: Observers
International and local election observers concluded their work this week, noting that the “outdated” electoral law of the country was in need of immediate reform. While monitors called for the change of laws regarding campaigning procedures and expenditure, they pointed out that there should be provisions for voters to vote even if they didn’t call over [...]
Coca Cola could face compensation call over claimed leak
When she woke up on Monday morning, 36-year-old Tharanga Nisansala had only one thing on her mind: her vote. But the day of the much-anticipated general elections unravelled as she found the home drinking water line contaminated and smelling foul. “I woke up early, before my family did, to prepare breakfast so that we could [...]
Road to freedom becomes a dream for born free bears
A roar of protest has gone up from animal lovers at a plan to transfer four young sloth bears under the guardianship of Department of Wildlife to the National Zoological Gardens, with calls for the bears to be rehabilitated and released to live free in the wild instead of in a cage. The bears were [...]
Single and alone
In a world dominated by men, it is a daunting task to be a woman trying to make ends meet single handedly. Whether it be by the roadside or at bus halts, pitiful sad-eyed women or women whose faces have been made hard and grim by unsavoury experiences… form a majority of those begging for [...]
Freak accidents lead to three deaths
Three people died last week in freak accidents including one on Elections Day, a coronor’s court was told. On Election Day (17 August), Nimal Ratnayake 44, a father of two was fatally injured when a falling rock hit the threewheeler he was driving which crashed into a culvert. The victim was transferred to National Hospital [...]
Kumabal Perahera lights up Kandy
The second Kumbal Perahera of the Kandy Esala Perahera began last night from the Sri Dalada Maligawa with the Nayake Thera placing the Golden Karanduwa on Tusker ‘Sinharaja’. Yesterday spectators, including tourists, lined the streets to view the Perahera. In previous years, tourists paid Rs. 9,000 and bought tickets to watch the Perahera from seating [...]
