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Home » ColumnsPresident Sirisena: The man with the knack of scoring own goals
JANUARY 9, 2015: The marvel dawned in the twilight hours of Friday evening, at the auspicious time of 6.21, when Maithripala Sirisena was sworn in as the new President of Sri Lanka; and, taking her proffered hand, vowed to lead her to that Elysian Field where bloom the roses of liberty, justice and freedom to [...]
Blatant violation of election laws in social media despite silent period
Tough all campaigning for the 2019 presidential election came to an end at midnight on Wednesday (13), election propaganda activities continued widely over social media during the so-called “silent period” in direct violation of election laws. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter were rife with propaganda posts by accounts affiliated to the two main [...]
People have spoken, now promises have to be kept
Dear Mr. President, I thought I will write to you while you are still savouring the euphoria after what was a short but hectic, intense and gruelling election campaign. As you read this, you might be waiting to see whether a second count would be necessary but I’m sure MaKo will not keep us in [...]
Formidable economic challenges for new President
The President elected today will have to face daunting economic challenges. The fundamental macroeconomic weaknesses of the economy must be addressed by sound economic policies effectively executed to achieve economic stability and get the economy into a higher trajectory of growth than the current economic growth of less than three percent. Economic challenges The foremost [...]
Resisting political adventurism following Sri Lanka’s presidential polls
Days before the November 2019 presidential polls on Saturday, a roadside fruit vendor in Colombo confessed his dissatisfaction to me in pungent terms, ‘see, what turmoil this election has caused’, he said bitterly, ‘all my four daughters and my wife are voting for Saji putha while I am determined to vote for the Pohottuwa.’ Canny [...]
Elections, selections and the mess we make
So, it is all over. I mean the campaigning for the presidential election. As I sit down to write this it is a little past midnight Wednesday in Sri Lanka and the campaign has just ended– officially that is. But being well aware of the ingenuity of Sri Lankans to circumvent the law, one should [...]
The challenges for the new president
Kudos for Election Commission and Police for relatively less violence Entered politics as a “male virgin” and leaving as “male virgin” – Sirisena National Security is priority for Gota Putting the economy right is Sajith’s main task Sri Lankans voted yesterday to elect the country’s eighth President after a 38-day campaign that has seen less [...]
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