Page 2 - Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka election results: President Dissanayake’s NPP poised for landslide victory

Sri Lanka votes in parliamentary election that's key for its new president

Sri Lankans are voting in a parliamentary election Thursday that is key for the country's new Marxist-leaning president to consolidate his party's power and follow through on promises of economic recovery. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election on September 21 in a victory that marked a rejection of the traditional political parties, which have governed the island nation since its independence from British rule in 1948. However, Dissanayake's failure to secure more than 50 per cent of the votes has fuelled concerns over his party's outlook in Thursday's election. His National People's Power party must increase its votes significantly from the 42 per cent it won in the presidential election if it is to acquire a minimum of 113 seats to take control of the 225-member Parliament. The biggest challenge for the NPP which was founded in 2019 and is a relative newcomer on Sri Lanka's political scene is that many of its candidates are new faces in politics ...

Sri Lanka set for parliamentary polls on Nov 14, all arrangements in place

Sri Lanka is set to hold its parliamentary election on Thursday with all arrangements in place to ensure a fair and transparent process, a top election commission official has said. Voting will take place at over 13,314 polling stations across the country, from 7 am to 4 pm local time on Thursday. Director General of the Elections Commission Saman Sri Ratnayaka on Tuesday said that all ballot boxes and other equipment needed at the polling stations would be dispatched on Wednesday. The polling station officials will carry out rehearsals from 7 am on Wednesday," Ratnayaka said. Over 17 million voters from the island's 21 million population are eligible to vote. 225 members would be elected from voting based on proportional representation. The western province district of Gampaha would elect the highest number of Members of Parliament 19 with the capital district of Colombo from the same province having 18 MPs elected. The eastern province district of Trincomalee will elect the lo

SL prez holds more pledges as campaigning closed for parliamentary polls

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake concluded his campaigning for Thursday's parliamentary election by pledging economic consolidation under his new government. The snap parliamentary elections was called by President Dissanayake after he won polls in September on a promise to combat corruption and improve the country's economic situation. The ex Marxist group, National People's Power (NPP) seeks a fully powered assembly to carry out mainly their anti-corruption policies where they allege that all politicians from major political parties who had ruled the country from 1948 were responsible. Since being elected the government has reopened some of the past cases. However, the government has faced criticism for its failure to reverse some of the hard-hit economic reforms of the previous administration of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Dissanayake addressing his final campaign rally on Monday said in the new government budget to be presented in March there will be drastic cuts of the

Coast Guard Chief Paramesh calls on India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Chief Director General S Paramesh visited Sri Lanka on Monday and met with India's High Commissioner, Santosh Jha, to discuss ways to strengthen regional maritime security.

China provides Rs 3 cr assistance to Sri Lanka after natural disasters

China has provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs 30 million to compensate for damage caused due to natural disasters from January to October this year, the government said on Saturday. Furthermore, material assistance worth 10 million Yuan is expected from China under the Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Programme, a statement from the President's Media Division (PMD) said. Sri Lanka saw two rounds of massive flooding this year with over two dozen deaths and displacement of more than 50,000 people across the country. The Chinese financial assistance totaling approximately Rs 30 million has been forwarded to the Treasury, the PMD said. Earlier on October 30, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka had handed over USD 1,00,000 (approximately LKR 30 million) and relief material worth LKR 400 million as aid on flood relief to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. In addition, the Department of National Budget has allocated further financial provisions to the Ministry of Defence for t

Sri Lanka's new govt reverses key economic reform for IMF bailout package

The new National People's Power (NPP) government in Sri Lanka on Tuesday announced its first reversal of a key element in the ongoing IMF bailout programme concerning the loss-making state-owned enterprises. The government reversed the Electricity Act, approved in June this year under then-president Ranil Wickremesinghe's government, introducing major reforms to the state power entity Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). The Marxist NPP trade unions had then agitated against the bill. A CEB trade union leader who led the agitation is an NPP candidate in the parliamentary election scheduled for November 14. A CEB statement on Monday said the entity's privatisation programme would be scrapped and vowed to amend the CEB Reforms Act of 2024. It said there would be no privatisation of state-owned power plants, transmission and distribution processes. The CEB Reforms Act of 2024 paved the way for private sector competition in power generation. The move was aimed at easing the burden on publ

Cabinet panel to review privileges given to ex-presidents in Sri Lanka

A Sri Lankan Cabinet sub-committee will soon review the privileges accorded to former presidents of the country and future actions on the matter will be taken based on its recommendations, the Presidential Secretariat has said. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's office on Friday also refuted reports that the security of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has been reduced. The statement by the Presidential Secretariat came after concerns raised by ex-presidents that the new Sri Lankan government under President Dissanayake would slash their privileges. In the run-up to the September 21 election, Dissanayake had vowed to stop all privileges of ex-presidents claiming they were a burden on the taxpayer. In recent days the government has faced criticism over the reported move to slash the personal security provided to former president Rajapaksa. "The Presidential Secretariat has noted recent media reports claiming that the security of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been reduc

Sri Lanka Navy arrests 12 Indian fishermen for alleged illegal fishing

The Sri Lankan Navy on Sunday arrested 12 Indian fishermen and seized their trawler for allegedly poaching in its territorial waters, according to an official statement. With the latest arrest, the number of Indian nationals apprehended this year by the island nation in such incidents has risen to 462. The fishermen were arrested, and their trawler was seized off the coast of Point Pedro, Jaffna, in the northern province, the Sri Lanka Navy said in a press release. The 12 apprehended fishermen were escorted to the Kankesanthurai Harbour and will be handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for further action, it said. The Sri Lankan Navy has "held 62 Indian fishing boats and 462 Indian fishermen in island waters thus far in 2024 and handed them over to authorities for legal action," the statement said. The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing thei

CM Stalin urges EAM to secure release of fishermen detained by Lankan Navy

He noted that the situation continues unabated, making it difficult for coastal communities to sustain their way of life

China gives $100,000 as humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka after floods

The Chinese government on Tuesday granted flood relief assistance of USD 100,000 to Sri Lanka, marking China's first show of goodwill towards the new government headed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the president's office said. The president's office in a statement said Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong met Dissanayake and handed over the donation. "Ambassador Qi Zhenhong handed over LKR 30 million emergency humanitarian relief funds to President Anura Dissanayake to help the people affected by the floods in Sri Lanka. Chinese people are always with Sri Lankan people," the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka said on X. Over 150,000 people have been affected and three killed in heavy rains and flash floods during the last two weeks in 15 of the 25 administrative districts of the island.

As weak economies' default wave peaks, cash shortage may take its place

The U.S. Treasury's top economic diplomat has called for new ways to provide short-term liquidity support to low- and middle-income countries to head off debt crises

INS Kalpeni arrived in Colombo, to boost maritime relations with Sri Lanka

The Indian Navy also said that it will engage with Sri Lankan Navy during the port call

As poor nations' sovereign default wave peaks, cash shortage may follow

The US Treasury's top economic diplomat has called for new ways to provide short-term liquidity support

17 Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka repatriated; on way to Tamil Nadu

Seventeen Indian fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters have been repatriated, according to the Indian mission here. Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other's waters. "Homecoming! 17 Indian fishermen have been successfully repatriated and are on their way to Tamil Nadu, India," the High Commission of India here said in a post on X on Friday. The fishermen issue is a contentious topic in the bilateral ties, with Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan territorial waters. Sri Lanka claims a similar attitude by Indian authorities. The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries, who are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other's ...

India doubles grant to back education in Sri Lanka's plantation community

India has doubled its grant to Rs 172.25 million to support education in Sri Lanka's plantation areas for the Indian-origin Tamil community. Indian High Commission to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha and Secretary of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Education and Science and Technology J M Thilaka Jayasundara on Friday signed and exchanged diplomatic letters to formalise the modalities. The project envisages the upgradation of infrastructure of 9 plantation schools identified by the Government of Sri Lanka. These include 6 schools in the plantation areas of Central Province and one school each in Uva, Sabaragamuwa and Southern Province," Jha said. With the additional funds infused at the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, India's total commitment to the project now stands at 600 million Sri Lanka rupees (INR 172.25 million). The project would add to India's numerous past and ongoing development partnership initiatives in Sri Lanka in the important sector of education. Besides support for ...

Sri Lankan president Anura to visit India after parliamentary polls

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's visit to Delhi at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will happen only after November this year, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said on Tuesday. We will discuss dates for the visit only after we form the new government, Herath told reporters here. Voting for the parliamentary election is to take place on November 14, almost 10 months ahead of the schedule. Dissanayake was elected on September 21. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar became the first foreign dignitary to meet Dissanayake after the presidential polls. He extended the invitation to Dissanayake from the Indian prime minister. Earlier in February this year, Dissanayake visited Delhi, as a leader of opposition, for a formal visit, first such by any leader of the Marxist JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front). The JVP, which Dissanayake heads since 2014, had run a bloody anti-India movement in Sri Lanka during 1987-90. The party had held that the 198

Sri Lanka's new govt reconsidering approval to Adani's power project

Sri Lanka's new government led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday told the Supreme Court that it would reconsider the approval granted by the previous government to India's Adani Group for a wind power project. A five-member Supreme Court (SC) bench was told on behalf of the attorney general that the decision to review the project had been taken at a Cabinet meeting held on October 7. The final decision of the new government would be conveyed after the installation of the new Cabinet after the November 14 parliamentary election, the court was told. President Dissanayake in the run-up to the September 21 presidential election had pledged that his National People's Power (NPP) alliance would annul the project. The NPP claimed that the project posed a threat to Sri Lanka's energy sector sovereignty and promised that it would be cancelled in the event of their victory. The Adani Group was set to invest over USD 440 million in the 20-year agreement for the development of 484 megawat

New Sri Lankan govt orders reinvestigation of several high-profile cases

Sri Lanka's new government has ordered the police to reinvestigate some high-profile cases, including the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks and the 2005 murder of a Tamil minority community journalist. The ruling National People's Power, which won the presidential election last month, pledged to reinvestigate past cases which had not been resolved. The Ministry of Public Security took action to identify any lapses in investigations. The ministry has asked the acting police chief that these cases should be reinvestigated," Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said on Saturday. The cases to be reinvestigated include the alleged scam in the issue of Central Bank bonds in 2015 blamed on the then government of Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former president, and the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed over 270 people, including 11 Indians. The catholic church has been demanding stringent action on what they alleged was a politically motivated cover-up by previous governments on the ...

EAM Jaishankar's visit was crucial in ending debt restructuring: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka on Tuesday said the recent visit by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was important in ending its debt restructuring with international sovereign bond holders. Jaishankar, who made a day-long trip to Sri Lanka on October 4, became the first foreign dignitary to visit the island nation after Anura Kumara Dissanayake assumed office as the new president on September 23. Cabinet spokesman and foreign affairs minister Vijitha Herath told reporters here that India's signing up for the agreement as a bilateral creditor endorsing that the agreement was compatible with the comparative treatment principle in debt restructuring. Ahead of the presidential polls last month, cash-strapped Sri Lanka had on September 19 announced that it had reached an in principle agreement with the external commercial creditors for the restructuring of approximately USD 17.5 billion of external commercial debts. Sri Lanka declared its first-ever sovereign default in mid-April 2022, having run out