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Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya flashes her inked finger after casting her ballot at a polling booth in Mirihana on general election day, Thursday. Her party, the NPP, cruised to a record-breaking victory beyond even its expectations. Pic by Indika Handuwala
President to name 23-member Cabinet tomorrow; Harini PM
AKD will retain defence and finance portfolios; first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday By Damith Wickremasekara President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will name a 23-member Cabinet tomorrow while holding the portfolios of defence and finance as the beginning of a string of changes to be effected after his party’s spectacular victory in the parliamentary elections on Thursday, the [...]
NPP tentatively decides on 18 members for national list seats
By Ishu Bandara The National Peoples’ Power (NPP) came up with a tentative list consisting of senior party stalwarts, trade unionists, and professionals to fill the 18 national list slots while the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) are set to finalise their lists tomorrow. The NPP announced 18 names from [...]
Treasury takes measures to streamline state funds
The Treasury has called for details of funds held outside the Consolidated Fund by ministries, departments, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs), as those funds will have to be wound up unless under specific circumstances and through a passage of an act in Parliament. Issuing a circular to ministry secretaries, heads of special spending units, heads of [...]
President to deliver policy statement in Parliament on Thursday
By Sandun Jayawardana President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will deliver his government’s policy statement at Thursday’s (21) inaugural session of the new Parliament. The presidential speech is scheduled for 3 p.m. Under Article 33(a) of the Constitution, the President is empowered to present the Government’s Policy Statement at the start of each new session of Parliament. [...]
Voter apathy, weekday contribute to low turnout, say polls observers
By Ishu Bandara Voter apathy, a changed political landscape and holding the election on a weekday were among reasons for the historic low voter turnout at the general elections, election observers opined. The overall turnout at Thursday’s election was 68.93% as compared to the 75.89% turnout in 2020 and the 79.46% turnout at the recently [...]
Justice Murdu Fernando next Chief Justice
By Ranjith Padmasiri The Constitutional Council (CC) has approved President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recommendation to appoint Supreme Court Justice Murdu Fernando as the next Chief Justice. She will succeed Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, who will retire on December 2. Justice Fernando is the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court. She joined the Attorney General’s Department [...]
Victors and losers have their say
By Kasun Warakapitiya Politicians of different hues and leaders of some parties have reacted to the outcome of Thursday’s general elections that saw the NPP sweep the board. The victors of the day, the JVP-led NPP themselves understood the gravity of the overwhelming mandate given to them. JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said the people [...]
Controversial MP loses poll but keeps election promise
By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe Puttalam District’s controversial parliamentarian Ali Sabri Raheem, in spite of his defeat at the parliamentary elections, fulfilled one of his election promises of handing over tyres to threewheel drivers. He handed over the tyres to 200 drivers, today, at his election office. Mr. Raheem contested the parliamentary elections under the United [...]
Vehicle for climate harm financing aims at 2025 aid despite shortfall
By Kapila Bandara A global funding mechanism to aid poorer countries such as Sri Lanka deal with unavoidable risks of the climate crisis is expected to start financing projects in 2025, although projects have yet to be identified. United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, (Cop29), delegates gathering in Baku, Azerbaijan, a petro state, [...]
Accessibility, taking time off and disappointment with candidates partly responsible for low voter turnout
By Tharushi Weerasinghe and Mimi Alphonsus This week’s parliamentary polls recorded the lowest voter turnout in Sri Lanka’s recent electoral history. Over 5.3 million registered voters failed to participate in the elections, and islandwide voter turnout reached a record low since 2010. In the 2020 parliamentary elections, 3.9 million people failed to vote. There was [...]
NPP National Executive Committee Members
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna-led National Peoples’ Power (NPP) is a collective alliance comprising 21 diverse groups, including political parties, youth organisations, women’s groups, trade unions, and civil society movements. Established in 2019, the NPP says it is driven by a shared vision of fostering a more progressive, inclusive, accountable, transparent, and democratic Sri Lankan identity.
Get to know new faces of the 10th parliament
A landslide win for the National People’s Power (NPP) at Thursday’s general elections means that the vast majority of MPs in the Tenth Parliament of Sri Lanka will be first-time parliamentarians. More than 140 of the elected members will be first-timers, according to preferential vote results. Following are brief profiles of the newly elected MPs [...]
Capturing voting day
Dambulla – Pic by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa Hambantota – Pic by Rahul Samantha Monaragala – Pic by Sumanasiri Dissanayaka Paraliya – Pic by Shirangika Lokukarawita Badulla – Pic by Palitha Ariyawansa Badulla – Pic by Prasad Rukmal Matara – Pic by Krishan Jeewaka Jayaruk Kankanamge Kandy – Pic by Shane Seneviratne Puttalam Vanni - Pic by [...]
Workers face bus shortage on returning from hometowns after voting
By Dilushi Wijesinghe The scarcity of buses following the general election has become a significant concern, as those who went to their hometowns to cast their votes are facing challenges in finding transportation in returning. Dilukshana, a 25-year-old garment worker from Trincomalee said “I was supposed to vote and take the bus back the next [...]
21 female lawmakers secure place in national political history
By Tharushi Weerasinghe This week’s general elections marked the highest number of women elected to Sri Lanka’s parliament. Twenty-one women, excluding national list candidates, were elected from 14 districts — a sharp increase from 13, including national list candidates, who were in parliament following the 2020 general elections. Only 60 women in total have ever [...]
Foreign envoys congratulate NPP on victory
Ambassadors and High Commissioners congratulated the NPP on their victory in the parliamentary elections. Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha visited President Anura Dissanayake to express his congratulations. In his message on X, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated President Dissanayake on his party’s “resounding” victory and called the results a “testament to the confidence and [...]
The birth of the JVP and its political journey
The Sunday Times today publishes an edited account of the JVP’s history as given in the party’s official website jvpsrilanka.com Six decades ago, as the country wwas facing a deep economic-political crisis with leftist political parties losing their support bases, a new leftist movement emerged among the youth and trade unions in the South—the People’s [...]
Tamil nationalist parties feel the popular heat
By S. Rubatheesan The Jaffna electoral district, once considered a stronghold of Tamil nationalism and dominated by Tamil political parties for decades, is no longer the case with the National Peoples’Power (NPP) led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, winning the electorate securing three seats this week. This is the first time since independence that [...]
NPP makes inroads into Jaffna with ease
By Miriam Alphonsus In Jaffna, the NPP secured 25% of the traditional Tamil vote bank belonging to Tamil political parties. In Vanni, the NPP won Vavuniya, while SJB-ACMC secured Mannar, and ITAK took Mullaitivu in a closely contested Vanni district that ultimately fell to the NPP. With only 20% of the vote, Vanni is the [...]