With Sri Lanka preparing for a presidential election later this year, the United Nations tomorrow marks the International Day of Democracy and we need to reflect deeply on the vital importance of democracy with its values and transparent processes.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by President Maithripala Sirisena is the third major political party that has communicated to the National Elections Commission (NEC) that it would field its candidate at the forthcoming presidential poll.

While the upcoming presidential poll has left major and minor political parties in a dilemma in deciding their “winnable” candidate, the “price” of most tiny registered political parties have soared to some Rs. 5 million....

Japan making elaborate arrangements to mark the 113th birth anniversary of the late Sri Lanka President JR Jayewardene on September 16 (Monday) makes Sri Lankans reminisce the good times the islanders enjoyed under his regime.

With national security being touted as the most pressing issue in the upcoming presidential election campaign, good governance, an equally important issue, has virtually become a non-issue.

The present elections hype created by the three main political parties brings with it many promises, but little has been spoken about the issues bothering minority Tamils.

When Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Housing, Construction and Cultural Affairs Minister Sajith Premadasa sat down for talks on Tuesday night, the party members thought the quarrel over presidential candidacy would end raising positive pros

No, not that ‘green’. That’s not what I meant. That said, this is not about a particular political party or a particular presidential hopeful. It is about policy that abandons the idiocy of economic planning that has put the entire country at r

With the presidential election fast approaching crunch time, the Election Commission is not pulling any punches in ensuring that the country’s important election to be held this year, most likely towards the end of November, will be peaceful, free

William Hazlitt says “The only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy,” if that is the truth and I agree with him, then the people who govern this country can never be forgiven, for the simple reason that the majority are a bunch of hypocrites

The much talked about presidential polls and the need for a change in regime were felt profoundly when the government made another election blunder; not checking on the price increase of Prima wheat flour which has been raised by rupees 5.50 a kilo.

So, we are looking at elections towards end November. The next two and-a-half months are going to be nothing short of full throttle.

Elections call for manifestos. Manifestos are typically documents into wish the which lists of all conceivable political communities are inserted. It makes sense politically to promise every religious community, every ethnic group and even every cast

The accountability of Government Ministers in particular and Parliamentarians in general towards the voters, who elected them was once again well manifested last week. On September 5, there was not a single Minister to answer the 15 oral questions t

The United National Party is suffering from an existential identity crisis. While symptoms had been there during much of the past two decades, the current bout is a manifestation of acute conditions.

When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi grandly announced at the Eastern Economic Summit in Vladivostok in Far East Russia (RFE) last week that India will extend a US$ 1 billion Line of Credit for the development of the RFE, it came as a surprise. I

Vira Parakrama Narendrasinghe ascended the throne in Kandy in 1707. His father, Vimala Dharma Suriya II, had been quite unlike his namesake under whom much of Kandy had been built in the 17th century. In the 17th and 18th century, the role of the kin

Ever since the name of Gotabaya Rajapaksa began to be bandied about as a potential candidate at the Sri Lankan presidential elections, doubts have been raised as to whether the former defence ministry secretary could win at the hustings.

At the Group of Seven summit in the French resort town of Biarritz (from August 24 to August 26) US President Trump raised the prospect of meeting Iran’s President Rouhani, whom he called a “great negotiator.”

Addressing the 68th party Convention /Anniversary on his 68th Birthday at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, President Maithripala Sirisena stated that “a person larger than Arjuna Mahendran, the former Central Bank Governor....

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has a storied past. Its romanticist appeal enthralled the masses; in 1971, the now-infamous insurrection, though based fundamentally on violent overthrow of a democratically....

It has been said of women, largely by misogynists, that men can’t do with or without them. The same can be said of the Sajith factor: the United National Party can’t do with or without it.

September 5 was an important day for the world – the International day of Charity or in practical terms poverty alleviation through a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources. In modern terminology....

“There is no business for the government to be in business,” is a formula advocated by most western economic experts. They believe Government bureaucracy is not equipped to run State-owned enterprises.....

Media reported last week that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had met President Maithripala Sirisena and come to an agreement with him to abolish the executive presidency forthwith.

In urban elite circles, there is much debate on 19A and the powers the next elected President would have. 19A goes down in parliamentary history as a set of amendments that had clauses read only in English and a Tamil MP...

Attorney-General Dappula de Livera has come under scrutiny for several decisions and arrests in a number of high-profile cases. One case where it was widely believed that the Attorney General (AG) had upheld the public trust and....

The Australian Government’s attempts to deport a Sri Lankan family being blocked by a court order has generated calls from sympathizers abroad to make the islanders a part of the Aussie community.

The United States and the Taliban are on the verge of signing a historic deal to facilitate a partial US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Whatever the deal is and how complicated it is, it cannot be called a peace deal....

Greatly inspired by the work of his late father, Gamini, lawmaker Navin has much to look forward to in the field of politics as he gets set to celebrate his 50th birthday on September 9 (Monday).