| Sri Lanka | |
| Sri Lanka elects Marxist lawmaker as next president after political and economic upheaval | |
| 2024-09-23 | |
Dissanayake, whose pro-working class and anti-political elite campaigning made him popular among youth, secured victory over opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over the country two years ago after its economy hit bottom. Dissanayake received 5,740,179 votes, followed by Premadasa with 4,530,902, Election Commission data showed. Related: Sri Lanka: 2024-09-22 Sri Lanka Marxist candidate takes early lead in presidential vote Sri Lanka: 2024-09-21 Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse Sri Lanka: 2024-09-16 Sri Lankans' fury forced the powerful Rajapaksa clan out. Now its heir is running for president Related: Dissanayake 05/16/2019 Arrests, New Curfews in Sri Lanka after Anti-Muslim Riots Dissanayake 05/11/2019 Sri Lanka slaps controls on mosques after Easter attacks, DNA test to check dead dude is ringleader Dissanayake 11/04/2018 Sri Lanka court orders arrest of military chief | |
| Link |
| Sri Lanka | |
| Sri Lanka Marxist candidate takes early lead in presidential vote | |
| 2024-09-22 | |
Dissanayaka had 60.21% of the 164,000 votes counted, out of just over 700,000. Public servants involved in conducting the election are entitled to post their ballots, which are the first to be counted. About 76% of the 17.1 million person electorate turned out for Saturday's vote, and final results are expected later Sunday. The election has turned into a referendum on incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe's austerity measures, implemented in line with a $2.9 billion bailout loan he secured from the IMF early last year. The 55-year-old Dissanayaka had vowed to renegotiate the unpopular IMF agreement under which Wickremesinghe had doubled income taxes, removed energy subsidies and raised prices. The initial results showed opposition leader Sajith Premadasa had 19.98, almost neck-and-neck with Wickremesinghe who had 18.59%. Related: Sri Lanka: 2024-09-21 Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse Sri Lanka: 2024-09-16 Sri Lankans' fury forced the powerful Rajapaksa clan out. Now its heir is running for president Sri Lanka: 2024-07-30 Iran says it has seized a tanker carrying counterfeit oil in the Persian Gulf | |
| Link |
| Sri Lanka |
| Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse |
| 2024-09-21 |
| [GEO.TV] Cash-strapped Sri Lanka began voting for its next president Saturday in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation's unprecedented financial crisis. President Ranil Wickremesinghe is fighting an uphill battle for a fresh mandate to continue belt-tightening measures that have stabilised the economy and ended months of food, fuel and medicine shortages. His two years in office restored calm to the streets after civil unrest spurred by the downturn in 2022 saw thousands storm the compound of his predecessor, who promptly fled the country. "We must continue with reforms to end bankruptcy," Wickremesinghe, 75, said at his final rally in Colombo this week. "Decide if you want to go back to the period of terror, or progress." But Wickremesinghe's tax hikes and other measures, imposed per the terms of a $2.9-billion IMF bailout, have left millions struggling to make ends meet. He is tipped to lose to one of two formidable challengers including Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, the leader of a once-marginal Marxist party tarnished by its Sri Lanka's crisis has proven an opportunity for the 55-year-old Dissanayaka, who has seen a surge of support based on his pledge to change the island's "corrupt" political culture. Fellow opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, the son of a former president assassinated in 1993 during the country's decades-long civil war, is also expected to make a strong showing. "There is a significant number of voters trying to send a strong message... that they are very disappointed with the way this country has been governed," Murtaza Jafferjee of think tank Advocata told AFP. |
| Link |
| Sri Lanka | |
| Sri Lankans' fury forced the powerful Rajapaksa clan out. Now its heir is running for president | |
| 2024-09-16 | |
| [DHAKATRIBUNE] When an uprising ousted Sri Lanka's president, many saw it as the end of his powerful family's hold on the island nation after more than 12 years of rule. Now, as Sri Lanka prepares to elect a new leader, Namal Rajapaksa is running for president. The 38-year-old is the son of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the nephew of the ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Namal is presenting himself as an agent of change, but many see his bid for presidency as an attempt by the controversial political dynasty to regain power. By mid-2022, the clan's political career seemed in ruins. Some of its members were forced into hiding in military camps after angry protesters stormed their residences. Others simply gave up their seats in the government as people blamed them for hurtling the country of more than 20 million people into an economic crisis. Two years later, the family — shunned and pushed to political wilderness — is trying make a comeback via the Rajapaksa heir apparent who is styling himself as someone who could deliver Sri Lanka into a prosperous future. But for Namal, it's more than just a political choice — it's a deeply personal one. He wants to shed the widespread allegations that the Rajapaksa clan ran the country as a family business that led to the economy crashing in 2022 — as well as the guilty verdict on corruption charges against them. ''The corruption charges are not something common to my family or to myself. If you look at all politicians in this country or in the world, including our region — all have been accused of being corrupt,'' Namal told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named (AP) on a recent afternoon. ''People will understand, you know, because if you look at the current stage, everyone is blaming each other.'' Sri Lanka was once an economic hope in South Asia, before it plunged into an economic crisis in 2022 when unsustainable debt and the Covid-19 pandemic led to a severe shortage of essentials. The crisis morphed into a popular uprising, with angry street protesters taking over the president's and prime minister's offices and other key buildings, forcing Gotabaya to flee the country and later resign. Many blamed the Rajapaksas. The family still had a big parliamentary majority, and voted Ranil Wickremesinghe to serve the remainder of the presidential term. Wickremesinghe ensured them protection in return for their support to pass laws in Parliament, enabling the clan to mark a return in politics. ''We didn't run away, we never bravely ran away. It's just that some people thought we were hiding,'' said Namal. Namal's prospects for a political comeback appear grim, as the main contest appears to be between three other candidates: Wickremesinghe, the parliamentary opposition leader and a left-leaning politician with a powerful alliance. Alan Keenan, senior consultant on Sri Lanka at the International Crisis Group, said the younger Rajapaksa's bid for the presidency is a test run that would establish ''his position as the heir apparent'' of the political dynasty. ''I think they (the Rajapaksas) know that Namal will not win. But his candidature effectively reasserts the family's ownership of the party,'' Keenan said. The Rajapaksa family has been a mainstay in Sri Lankan politics for decades. They influenced nearly everything — from bureaucracy to courts, police, business and sports. Namal's father was a prime minister and then a two-term president from 2005 to 2015. Even though Mahinda Rajapaksa was adored by the country's majority Buddhist Sinhalese for defeating the ethnic Tamil separatists after a 26-year bloody civil war, allegations of human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... violations and corruption led to his defeat in 2015. The family, however, returned more powerful four years later, when Mahinda's brother was elected president. Gotabaya Rajapaksa whipped up majority Buddhist Sinhalese sentiments after the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, blamed on Islamic krazed killer groups, killed 290 people. But the family's popularity quickly eroded under a tanking economy and alienation among ethnic Tamils, Moslems and other minorities. With hopes to reinvent himself as a young, modern leader removed from his family's tainted past, Namal's efforts mirror that of his father, who still enjoys considerable support among some voters who credit him for crushing the Tamil separatists. Like his father, Namal wears the trademark outfit that highlights his Buddhist Sinhalese culture, with a maroon scarf around his neck, a sarong and a white robe. During campaigns he can be seen touching his father's feet in reverence, a practice most locals consider noble. He is also promising to free the island nation from its debt crisis, create more jobs and eradicate corruption by digitizing the administrative systems. Five key runners in Sri Lanka's presidential race [DHAKATRIBUNE] The majority-Buddhist island nation of around 22 million people will head for polls on September 21
Related: Sri Lanka: 2024-07-30 Iran says it has seized a tanker carrying counterfeit oil in the Persian Gulf Sri Lanka: 2024-07-24 IRGC navy confiscates Indian/Sri Lankan tanker carrying smuggled fuel Sri Lanka: 2024-07-24 Lefty mob floods U.S. Capitol ahead of planned ''Day of Related: Rajapaksa 09/04/2022 SriLanka’s ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been provided with an official residence and security by the government after returning to the country Rajapaksa 08/17/2022 Sri Lanka to end state of emergency: President Rajapaksa 08/06/2022 Green Myths and Hard Realities: Sri Lanka as a Warning | |
| Link |
| Sri Lanka |
| Sri Lanka to slash military by a third to cut costs |
| 2023-01-14 |
| [DAWN] Sri Lanka will slash its army by a third to 135,000 personnel by next year and to 100,000 by 2030, the state minister of defence said on Friday, as the country tries to cut costs in the face of its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades. "Military spending is basically state-borne expenditure which indirectly stimulates and opens avenues for economic growth by way of assuring national and human security," Premitha Bandara Thennakoon said in a statement. The aim of the move is to create a "technically and tactically sound and well-balanced" defence force by 2030, Thennakoon said. The size of Sri Lanka’s armed forces peaked between 2017 and 2019, with 317,000 personnel, according to World Bank data, higher even than that during the 25 year-long conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that ended in 2009. The share of the defence sector in Sri Lanka’s total expenditure peaked in 2021, at 2.31 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), but fell to 2.03pc last year, according to Colombo-based think tank Verite Research. Recently, President Ranil Wickremesinghe ordered a five per cent reduction in state spending and his administration warned earlier this week that welfare payments for 1.8 million families below the poverty line could be delayed this month. Sri Lanka needs to achieve debt sustainability as a precondition to secure a $2.9 billion IMF loan. The lender has also asked Colombo to trim its 1.5 million-strong public service, sharply raise taxes and sell off loss-making state enterprises. Key creditors such as China and India are yet to agree upon a "haircut" on their loans to the South Asian nation, which has stalled Sri Lanka’s efforts to restructure its debt. Doubled personal income and corporate taxes kicked in on New Year’s Day to shore up state revenue. Electricity prices are also rising another 65pc after a 75pc tariff increase in August. Sri Lanka’s 22 million people endured months of food and fuel shortages, chronic blackouts and runaway inflation last year, inflaming public anger. Wickremesinghe came to power in July at the peak of the crisis after his predecessor fled the country when protesters stormed his residence. |
| Link |
| Sri Lanka |
| Sri Lanka to end state of emergency: President |
| 2022-08-17 |
| [AlAhram] Sri Lanka will not extend a state of emergency imposed to control anti-government protests as the situation in the impoverished nation has "stabilised", the president's office said Tuesday. Ranil Wickremesinghe invoked the tough laws four days after his predecessor fled the country and resigned on July 14 after months of protests over acute shortages of food, fuel and medicines. The emergency imposed by Wickremesinghe is due to lapse on Thursday and he has the power to renew it every month thereafter. "The situation in the country has stabilised, there is no need to reimpose the state of emergency when it lapses this week," Wickremesinghe's office quoted him as saying. The emergency regulations allow troops and police to arrest and detain suspects for long periods. The state of emergency has been widely criticised by rights groups as a draconian step that allows the president to make regulations and limit citizens' freedoms without judicial review. Wickremesinghe's predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to flee the country and resign when tens of thousands of protesters overran his official residence. The nation's 22 million people have been enduring severe shortages of essentials since late last year, after the country ran out of foreign exchange to finance even the most vital imports. The country defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt in mid-April and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a possible bailout. Sri Lanka is currently facing hyperinflation, with the overall rate at 60.8 percent while food inflation was at a much higher 90.9 percent last month, according to official data. |
| Link |
| Sri Lanka |
| Lanka arrests protest leaders, extends emergency laws |
| 2022-07-29 |
| [NEWAGEBD.NET] Two activists who helped lead mass demonstrations that toppled Sri Lanka’s president were arrested on Wednesday, police said, as parliament extended tough emergency laws imposed to restore order. Meanwhile, ...back at the Alamo, Davy was counting their remaining cannon balls and not liking the results... Singapore has extended a short-stay visa for Lanka’s deposed president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, local media in the city-state reported on Wednesday. Rajapaksa fled his country on July 13, after his official residence was stormed by thousands of protesters who had demonstrated for months against the island nation’s painful economic crisis. Rajapaksa’s 14-day visit pass has been extended, allowing him to stay until August 11, the Straits Times newspaper reported Wednesday. The former president was allowed to enter Singapore on a ’private visit’ and did not seek asylum, authorities said previously. Rajapaksa was forced to flee when tens of thousands of protesters, incensed by the island nation’s unprecedented economic crisis, stormed his residence in the capital Colombo. He later flew to Singapore and tendered his resignation while his successor Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency and vowed a tough line against ’trouble-makers’. Police said in separate Wednesday statements that they had arrested activists Kusal Sandaruwan and Weranga Pushpika on unlawful assembly charges. After Rajapaksa fled, Sandaruwan was seen in social media footage counting a large cache of banknotes found in the president’s home. |
| Link |
| Sri Lanka |
| Dinesh Gunawardena has taken the oath as SriLanka's new prime minister, a day after six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| 2022-07-23 |
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
|
| Link |
| Sri Lanka |
| Sri Lanka to get new president next week amid political and economic meltdown |
| 2022-07-12 |
| [NYPOST] Sri Lanka’s parliament will elect a new president on July 20, its speaker said on Monday, after protesters stormed the residences of the current president and prime minister, who have both offered to quit amid an economic meltdown. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had overseen a ruthless crushing of the Tamil Tigers snuffies as defense secretary, is set to resign on Wednesday. His brothers and nephew earlier quit as ministers as Sri Lanka began running out of fuel, food and other essentials in the worst crisis since independence from Britannia in 1948. Parliament will reconvene on Friday and will vote to elect a new president five days later, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a statement. "During the party leaders’ meeting held today it was agreed that this was essential to ensure a new all-party government is in place in accordance with the Constitution," the statement added. "The ruling party has said the prime minister and the Cabinet are ready to resign to appoint an all-party government." Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose private home was set alight by protesters, has said he will step down. His office said Rajapaksa had confirmed his resignation plans to the prime minister, adding that the cabinet would resign once a deal was reached to form an all-party government. |
| Link |
| Sri Lanka | |
| Sri Lankan President flees, PM calls for emergency party meeting; Pres, PM to quit | |
| 2022-07-10 | |
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Protesters demanding the resignation of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa breached security barricades and entered his official residence, braving tear gas and water cannons forcing the leader to leave his compound. Rajapaksa left his official residence at about 10:00 a.m. this morning, his secretary Gamini Senarath said over the phone, adding that he could not contact the leader currently and didn’t know his whereabouts. Earlier, French news agency Agence La Belle France-Presse cited an unidentified defense official as saying that Rajapaksa was escorted to safety away from the compound. Civil-rights Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has called an emergency meeting of party leaders to discuss the current situation, a text message from his office said. Ahead of the protest, Omalpe Sobitha, a senior Buddhist monk at one of the main monastic orders and an outspoken critic of the government, told news hounds the crisis is not the result of famine or natural disaster but mis-governance. Sri Lanka is in the worst tailspin of its independent history, with inflation seen hitting 70%. It has been facing shortages of everything from fuel to medicine for months, prompting protests that led to the resignations of all the Rajapaksa family members who were in the government, except for the president.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he will leave office once a new government is in place, and hours later the speaker of Parliament said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would step down Wednesday. Pressure on both men grew as the economic meltdown set off severe shortages of essential items, leaving people struggling to buy food, fuel and other necessities. Police had attempted to thwart promised protests with a curfew, then lifted it as lawyers and opposition politicians denounced it as illegal. Thousands of protesters entered the capital, Colombo, and swarmed into Rajapaksa’s fortified residence. Video images showed jubilant crowds taking a dip in the garden pool. Some people lay on the home’s beds, while others made tea and issued statements from a conference room demanding that the president and prime minister go. Related: Sri Lanka: 2022-07-09 Thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka storm president's official residence and take dip in swimming pool after crowds broke through police barricades during anti-government march Sri Lanka: 2022-06-23 Good Morning Sri Lanka: 2022-06-23 Sri Lanka PM says economy 'has collapsed,' unable to buy oil | |
| Link |
| Sri Lanka | |
| Sri Lanka PM says economy 'has collapsed,' unable to buy oil | |
| 2022-06-23 | |
| |
| Link |