A retreat from the precipice. For now. (19 December 2018)

After fifty one days of political turmoil in Sri Lanka, the coup attempt that was launched on the evening of Friday 26th October has failed. Following a series of crucial judgements from Sri Lanka’s highest courts last week, which deemed President Sirisena’s...

Steps forward, steps backward (21 November 2018)

Two checks on the Rajapaksa coup Last week began with a series of blows to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s illegal and unconstitutional power grab. After the lodging of multiple legal challenges, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court filed a temporary ‘stay order’ overturning President...

Plunging deeper into crisis (10 November 2018)

Late yesterday evening, President Sirisena issued a decree announcing that he had ‘dissolved’ Sri Lanka’s Parliament – delivering a further sledgehammer blow to the Constitution that he swore to uphold in January 2015, and veering his country further down the path...

Sri Lanka situation update (8 November 2018)

A failing coup? The past week saw intense political manoeuvring in Sri Lanka, as efforts by Mahinda Rajapaksa to obtain command of a majority in Parliament continued. Despite the ‘crossing over’ of a handful of MPs, which further narrowed the gap between the two main...