Local Elections in Sri Lanka: The Weaponisation of Democracy

Last week, President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that Sri Lankan local elections, due to be held on 9th March 2023, will be indefinitely delayed, as the Sri Lankan government continues its assault on democratic rights.  These elections, which had already been...

Repression of dissent on the rise as Sri Lanka nears elections

INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre have just released their regular monthly report on repression of dissent in Sri Lanka for the month of May. It records an alarming uptick in incidents when compared to previous months. The graphs below illustrate some of the...

Rajapaksa has lost, the transfer of power must be peaceful

Multiple credible news sources are reporting that President Mahinda Rajapaska has conceded defeat in Sri Lanka’s presidential elections. At the time of going to press provisional results had common opposition candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, in the lead by 52%...

Sri Lanka election violence: the world is watching

Sri Lanka votes today in a highly competitive presidential election. The election has been marred by widespread violence and threats against politicians, voters and monitors. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence has documented over 400 incidents –...

The pope’s visit

The Pope is due to visit Sri Lanka on January the 13th. A presidential election will be held there only five days before he arrives – something the Vatican had indicated it would consider “inappropriate”.     Already the Pope’s visit is being used...