“Sri Lanka’s Bumpy Road to a Political Reset” by Alan Keenan (International Crisis Group)

Alan Keenan’s new report on Sri Lanka for the International Crisis Group is available.

Victory for National People’s Power at the ballot box in 2024 opened a rare window of opportunity to forge a more inclusive, transparent political system in Sri Lanka. But the report argues the window has already begun to narrow.

Almost eighteen months into its term in office, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) government has kept Sri Lanka’s economic recovery on track and made notable efforts to fight corruption. But it faces growing questions about its ability and commitment to achieve its bold promises of “system change”.

Dissanayake’s election in September 2024 and the NPP’s subsequent parliamentary majority created a rare opening to address the country’s most important and intractable governance problems. Failure to achieve a substantial portion of their ambitious agenda threatens to open the way to a return to ethnic tensions and political authoritarianism.

To regain momentum for reform, Dissanayake’s government will need, as a priority, to reinforce its anti-impunity campaign with investigations of wartime atrocities (beginning with mass graves); adopt a more inclusive, less defensive style of governance; strengthen independent oversight of the state, including by allowing its own officials to be prosecuted when faced with credible allegations of wrong-doing; end abuses of counter-terrorism policing; and do more to protect the most economically vulnerable.

We offer ideas for how they can try to accomplish this in the report.

“Élection présidentielle au Sri Lanka : l’heure du renouveau politique” entretien de Delon Madavan accordé pour France Culture

Nous partageons l’analyse de Delon Madavan sur les résultats des élections présidentielles de 2024 à Sri Lanka pour la matinale de France Culture.

Pour écouter l’analyse, veuillez cliquer sur ce lien