Parliament monitoring platform Manthri.lk celebrates 10th anniversary today

The Manthri.lk platform of Verité Research, launched as Asia’s first-ever parliament monitoring platform in 2013, celebrates its 10th anniversary today (23).

In this period, the platform has coded, quantified, catalogued and analysed every single line of Hansards covering over 1,000 sittings of parliament, and ranked all those who have been members of parliament (MPs) based on their contribution, the Verité Research said.

Manthri.lk helps MPs to be recognised for their positive contribution in parliament and informs the voting public about the contributions made by their elected representatives.

The pioneering trilingual platform ranks MPs based on their contribution relative to each other and acknowledges outstanding contributions on a monthly and yearly basis. These evaluations bring public recognition to MPs who are diligent in contributing to parliament as they are elected to do.

The platform has increasingly looked at the performance of parliament as an institution as well. It provides regular updates on parliamentary activity such as order papers, bills, and written questions – and even analysis on how parliament is functioning with regard to important activities, such as the convening of ministerial consultative committees and the sharing information with the public.

A fuller evaluation of how MPs contribute in the legislature remains compromised by the inability of parliament to provide timely data on attendance at Parliament committees.

Manthri.lk is run by the Parliament Research Team (PRT) at Verité Research. The team facilitates research support for MPs through analytical notes and briefings on request, to enable them to gain a better understanding of bills brought to parliament and issues that are debated on the floor.

The PRT team also conducts educational courses for civil society organisations, trade unions, and journalists on how to engage more effectively with parliament. The courses are designed to increase their ability to have the concerns of society engaged with by elected representatives in making arguments and decisions in parliament. The platform contributes to improving the understanding of how public representation can be advanced through the institution of parliament between elections.

Last year, the platform introduced an almost real-time Twitter video channel called ManthriWatch, that captures highlights of parliamentary sessions each day. This has attracted a large audience in a short space of time and been replicated in platforms such as TikTok, which has widened the social interest in, and engagement with, one of the most critical institutions in improving Sri Lanka’s democracy.