Columns

• Govt. reaching six-month milestone: Movement on anti-corruption,  but lagging behind in fulfilling promises
• Amid shaky unity, opposition parties hold talks to thwart   NPP’s bid to govern 115 councils

By our Political Desk

While the local council elections are over, the tussle over who will form the administration of more than 150 councils where no party or group has an outright majority continues, with no clear picture yet on who will ultimately triumph.

Opposition parties have been exploring how they can support each other to form administrations in local councils where the combined number of opposition members is greater than the number elected from the ruling National People’s Power (NPP). The plan, if it ever comes to fruition, will see these political parties wrest control of local councils that have been won by the NPP without being able to secure an outright majority. This could include the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), the biggest prize of the entire election. While the NPP won a historic victory at the CMC, becoming the largest party in the council with 48 members, it is still 11 members short of the 59 needed to win an outright majority in the 117-member council.

All local councils are to convene for the first time on June 2. For councils where no one has obtained a majority of 50 percent or more, if no consensus has been found on the appointment of a chairperson and a deputy chairperson, a vote to elect members to these posts will have to be held.

The NPP claims victory in 267 local councils out of 339 to which elections were held on May 6. These include councils where the party won an outright majority as well as those where it won the most number of seats but could not secure an overwhelming victory that would have enabled the party to form administrations without having to rely on other parties or groups. Ever since the results of the election were announced, the government has consistently maintained that it will form the administration of all 267 local councils it won.

Government puts positive spin on brutal result

Results of the local council elections were a brutal wake-up call for the NPP and its main constituent party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), showing how the government’s popularity has nosedived in just six months since its sweeping win in November’s parliamentary election. Instead of acknowledging this fact, however, the government, at least in public, continues to strike a defiant tone, insisting that the results of a local council election cannot be compared to presidential and parliamentary elections. Government leaders point out that a clear majority of voters still chose to back the NPP, as shown by the number of councils the party won and the members it had elected.

Speaking to the media the day after the election, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said the NPP would work with members who had been elected after contesting independently when forming the councils where it did not have an outright majority.

President vows to thwart opposition moves

The government has also reacted angrily to manoeuvres by opposition parties to capture councils where the combined strength of opposition members outnumbers those of the NPP. Government figures have repeatedly insisted that they hold both the political and moral right to form these councils since they are the largest single party in these councils. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake himself doubled down on this message when he addressed the 60th anniversary celebrations of the JVP at the Viharamahadevi Open Air Theatre on Wednesday. In his speech, President Dissanayake insisted that the NPP would form the administration of every single council it won. He also publicly scoffed at claims that the result of the election showed his party had suffered a drastic drop in popularity within six months and rattled off a series of victories the party had achieved at the polls.

“We haven’t lost a single Pradeshiya Sabha in the Southern Province. Except for three Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Kalutara District, we have won every other Pradeshiya Sabha in the Western Province. In the Sabaragamuwa Province, we have won all Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Kegalle and Ratnapura districts. In the Wayamba (North-Western) Province, we have won everywhere except in Kalpitiya, though there too, the numbers are tied 10:10. In Nuwara Eliya, we have won 10 out of 12, with numbers being tied in the other two. We won all local authorities in the North-Central Province. The NPP won the largest number of votes in the Vanni District, made up of Mullaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya. We have the highest number of votes in Ampara and Trincomalee districts, while our vote in Batticaloa is the same percentage we received during the parliamentary election. We came second in the Kilinochchi and Jaffna districts, and we had 93 members elected in Jaffna. We got 10 members elected in the Jaffna Municipal Council. Where have we lost?” asked President Dissanayake.

He pledged that the NPP would form 152 councils at the outset. The administration of the other 115 councils would be formed on the day they were established, he added. “We need to understand what a people’s mandate means,” the President emphasised. “We have every right under the mandate given to us to form the administration of all the 267 local authorities that we won. If someone tries to obstruct this, we would like to tell them that there is ample opportunity under the law for us to respond.”

The President added that the government is duty-bound to work according to the people’s mandate. If someone tries to work against that mandate, the government is prepared to use the Constitution, the law and political power to thwart them, he warned. He added that if existing laws are insufficient, the government may even use its two-thirds parliamentary majority to introduce new laws to prevent efforts to go against the people’s mandate.

The President’s warnings against the opposition’s attempts to gain control of councils won by the NPP swiftly came under attack by those from opposition circles. In a post on X, ITAK General Secretary and former parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran slammed the President’s comments. He said President Dissanayake “threatens he has 2/3rd in Parliament and stranger (or is it?), he refers to Exec power in his hands! Power corrupts and absolute power (indeed) corrupts absolutely. Arithmetic also goes out of the window when he claims 10/41 in Jaffna Municipal Council is majority!!”.

Former parliamentarian Charitha Herath too weighed in. “It seems President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is having a hard time coming to terms with the clear mandate given by the people in the last local government election. As democrats, we must respect the people’s verdict—whether we agree with it or not. The results signalled a significant setback for the so-called two-thirds government, which lost 2.3 million votes in just six months. If this level of frustration begins to manifest in executive decisions, one can only imagine how many more votes they might lose in the next six months,” Prof. Herath said in a post on X.

Opposition parties in delicate negotiations

The first meeting among opposition parties aimed at securing power in local councils was held on Wednesday at the Flower Road political office of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. A large number of political party representatives attended the meeting. They included SJB Head of Operations Nalin Bandara, SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa, Nimal Siripala De Silva and Duminda Dissanayake from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Anura Priyadarshana Yapa from the People’s Alliance (PA), Workers National Front Leader Palani Digambaram, Democratic People’s Front Leader Mano Ganesan, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader Udaya Gammanpila and Ceylon Workers’ Congress General Secretary Jeevan Thondaman. Those from the UNP included party Chairman Vajira Abeywardena, General Secretary Thalatha Athukorale and National Organiser Sagala Ratnayaka.

Problems, however, started almost immediately. A statement issued by the UNP after the discussions drew the ire of Sarvajana Balaya (SB) Leader Dilith Jayaweera. The MP took to social media to refute a claim made in the statement that he had joined the discussion via phone. He said the reference to him joining the discussion was false and added he had asked UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena to correct the statement. Mr. Jayaweera said Mr. Abeywardena had agreed to his request.

When the second round of discussions took place at a Colombo hotel between secretaries of political parties on Thursday, the SJB and the SLPP were conspicuous by their absence. Party secretaries met Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday. PA General Secretary Lasantha Alagiyawanna told the Sunday Times that the talks were “positive” and further discussions will continue.

A senior SJB MP told the Sunday Times that discussions aimed at forming local councils in places where opposition parties had more members than the NPP are continuing and would likely continue until the last moment to see if an agreement can be reached. “Negotiations are obviously delicate and time-consuming. Nothing has been decided yet,” he said, but added the party was quietly confident about gaining control of the CMC given that opposition political parties have a significant number of members when compared to independent groups that the NPP is actively courting.

SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, meanwhile, explained that their party has its own goals moving forward but stressed this does not mean they are averse to supporting efforts by opposition parties to set up council administrations in certain instances.

“We are a separate party with a different set of policies, aims and goals to which we are dedicated. However, as a party we won’t hinder efforts by opposition parties to set up administrations in local government bodies where people have clearly mandated that the government should not govern. We will assess our position on these local government bodies on a case-by-case basis,” he told the Sunday Times.

Commenting on talks between opposition parties on forming local councils, Mr. Kariyawasam said the SLPP must know beforehand the purpose of the discussions and at what level the SLPP is taking part in these discussions.

For its part, the SLPP will go ahead with achieving its own goals, Mr Kariyawasam stated, adding that it is not willing to make alliances with parties that are not aligned with its policies. However, it is still open to supporting anyone to set up administrations in councils that people, through their mandate, have indicated should be governed by parties other than the government, he stressed.

The People’s Alliance (PA), which includes the SLFP, has been actively involved in the discussions among opposition political parties. PA chairman and former minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa attended the meeting at Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road office on Wednesday. As agreed at the meeting, party secretaries are now carrying forward the discussions on forming the councils, Mr. Yapa said.

The PA has about 300 members elected to the local councils and is “not in a position to dictate terms to anyone,” since the SJB and SLPP have far more members, Mr. Yapa noted. “However, in certain councils, our party came in second and sometimes third. So in such areas, our people will discuss the modalities (on forming the councils).”

The discussions are not about forming a combined opposition, as some have misinterpreted, but rather an “arrangement by the parties”, the PA chairman explained. “We are not going to align with any political party, but we will support the opposition if they want our help. That is our stand. We are not going to work with any political party, but we will support other political parties if they are willing and have the majority to form the local councils.”

The NPP is not speaking to political parties but is reaching out to individual members about supporting them to form the administration, said Mr. Yapa, adding that even some PA members  have been approached. “Though they (NPP) say they don’t want to speak to (political party) members, they have done that,” claimed Mr. Yapa, adding that such approaches are “part and parcel of power politics.”

Progress on establishing councils

As political parties and independent groups continue their talks, the Election Commission (EC) is moving ahead with the post-election process that paves the way for the councils to be established. In councils where a political party or independent group has secured a majority of 50 percent or more of the total vote, the EC has already asked secretaries of such political parties or independent groups to send them the names of members who they will appoint as heads of those councils. Political parties and independent groups are also required to submit the names of members who will be appointed to the council from the additional list, as well as the names of female members who are to be appointed. Guidelines have been sent to political parties and independent groups regarding the inclusion of female representation in their lists.

Manjula Gajanayake, Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES), explaining the process, said, “Once the names are submitted, the EC will gazette the names of all the new council members. Within a week of the EC’s gazette notification, local government commissioners will write to all the members of local councils referencing the EC’s gazette and mentioning the venue and date of the first meeting of the newly elected council.

“Once the members assemble at the venue, if the quorum is 50 percent, the local government commissioner will start the proceedings by asking the council to nominate a person for the chairmanship. If it is more than one person, there will have to be a vote. The vote can be either an open vote or a secret ballot depending on what the majority of members want. Someone has to pass the 50 percent hurdle at the vote for them to be appointed for the position. Once the chairperson is appointed, the same process will have to be conducted to appoint the vice chairperson.”

Mr. Gajanayake said that having the required quorum will be the biggest challenge in councils where no party or group has a majority of 50 percent. If a party or group believes there is still an opening for it to gain control of a particular council, it may not turn up for the meeting to gain more time to negotiate with other parties or groups to obtain their support, he pointed out. “If the quorum is not present, the local government commissioners will have to reconvene the council at a later date. This situation could drag on for days, weeks, or even months,” he warned.

Mr. Gajanayake said he was recently told by a local government commissioner that he once had to convene the first meeting of a particular local council in the east nine times to appoint the chairman because the quorum was not present.

He said the council will not be able to function without appointing its head, as in local authorities, it is the head of the institution who is empowered to sign cheques for the council. “On the one hand, the head of the council is a public representative, and on the other, he or she is like a CEO. That is why you will not be able to move forward even one inch in a local council without appointing the head of that council,” he remarked.

If political parties and independent groups are supporting one person to be appointed as head of the council, the process will be straightforward and short, the IRES Executive Director said. “But I don’t believe this will happen judging by the prevailing political situation.”

The Government’s record in its first six months

Meanwhile, on May 21, the NPP will reach the six-month milestone since the first sitting of the new Parliament where it has a two-thirds majority. May 23 will also mark eight months since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn into office; hence, the interest in taking stock of how many of the President’s/NPP’s election promises have been fulfilled is timely. In many instances, the government has failed to implement or at least get off the ground its promise, while much of the election rhetoric isn’t transforming into action, and some are abandoned.

Among the most notable undertakings by the President/ NPP during the presidential and parliamentary election campaigns were to introduce a new constitution under which the executive presidency will be abolished and repeal or replace problematic laws such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and amend the Online Safety Act. There has been little progress on the new constitution, but a committee has been set up to review the PTA and recommend a new anti-terrorism law that aligns with international standards. There has also been little progress on amending the OSA in a manner that is not used as a tool to curtail freedom of speech. The government has also been non-committal on the private member’s bill introduced to Parliament by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake to repeal the controversial law.

In the President/NPP’s elect manifesto, ‘A Thriving Nation, A Beautiful Life,’ depoliticising the diplomatic service was named as one of its priorities, but a majority of appointments made to heads of mission positions since the government took office have been political ones.

Seven out of the eight persons nominated to serve in Sri Lankan missions overseas by the NPP so far have been political appointees, and these included former Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, who was named Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, a post previously held by another retired Chief Justice, Mohan Peiris, whose appointment drew heavy criticism in the past.

A fresh probe into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks was also one of the most talked-about pledges by the President and the NPP. However, that too has turned into a damp squib, with promises to name an alleged mastermind by April 21, 2025, not materialising. Having heavily politicised the Easter Sunday terrorist attack investigation, the NPP seems to have got into a quagmire of its own creation. This, along with several other high-profile emblematic cases, such as the investigation into the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga, seems to have gone awry by now. Steps toward the setting up of a Directorate of Public Prosecution, too, an election pledge meant to expedite such cases, have also made little progress.

One of the pledges of the NPP was to restore the dignity of Parliament but its first act in the new Parliament, that of appointing a speaker, resulted in a massive embarrassment for the government when its appointee did not last even a month in the job after it was exposed that he had lied about being a PhD holder from a Japanese university and had to resign under pressure. He continues to be an MP despite the breach of public trust his actions have resulted in, with the Government itself maintaining a stoic silence in this connection despite pledges to restore the dignity of Parliament.

In the past six months, the government has also made little progress in enacting any meaningful legislation, with only the Proceeds of Crime Act passed as a significant piece of legislation. This law, however, is one that was initiated in 2024 by the Wickremesinghe government.

Pledges to abolish pensions of MPs, pensions and other facilities for former presidents, etc., too, have not materialised, along with many other new laws that the government had promised to introduce promptly but now seem to be dragging its feet on.

So what has the NPP achieved in the past six months? The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption has certainly begun to work seriously, and there is more positive progress in initiating investigations as well as prosecutions of wrongdoers. There is a serious effort to discourage bribery and corruption in state institutions which seem to be bearing fruit. It is likely the government will stick to its anti-corruption drive given that it was rampant corruption in previous governments that propelled President Dissanayake and the NPP to power.

The government has also cut back on expenditure on ministers and MPs, reducing security details, official residential facilities and other such benefits which were grossly abused in the past. So far the government has also shown it is more transparent in awarding government tenders and contracts while keeping unsolicited proposals from big projects at bay.

While these measures are welcome, a lot is riding on how the government performs in the next six months, as failure to deliver substantially on election promises after one year in office will surely make the public’s patience wear thin, and going by the results of the local authorities elections, the downward trend of the NPP may continue unless it changes course soon.

JVP’s 60-year march to power: From Wijeweera’s violent revolution to AKD’s reformist path   It was on a Vesak Day in May 1965 that Rohana Wijeweera and a group of like-minded friends met in Akmeemana in the Galle District for a discussion to spearhead a new revolutionary movement which later came to be known as the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) or the People’s Liberation Front. Prior to that, Wijeweera had dabbled in leftist politics with the Communist Party (CP) of Sri Lanka, got drawn into the Sino-Soviet ideological dispute that the CP was embroiled in, which led to its split, and sided with the Peking Wing of the CP, only to fall out with its leadership, which led to his expulsion from the CP. This gave impetus to Wijeweera’s wish to give birth to a new revolutionary movement and the formation of the JVP. In his evidence before the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) set up in 1972 to try those charged with insurrection in April 1971, Wijeweera describes himself as a ‘professional revolutionary politician’ —a Marxist-Leninist, a modern Bolshevik and a proletarian revolutionary. The focus of his movement was to explain to the rural masses the burning socio-economic problems of the people by using a Marxist analysis so that they understood the real nature of the problems and learnt that scientific solutions could be found to their problem through the understanding of Marxism. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressing the JVP 's 60th anniversary rally at the Viharamahadevi Park open-air theatre on Wednesday Pix by Akila Jayawardena The JVP’s five classes were designed with this in mind, with Wijeweera explaining the need for mass indoctrination using these lectures. The classes covered the economic crisis/problems of the rural masses, independence and post-colonial challenges, Indian expansionism allied to which was the question of Indian estate labour and the betrayal of the working classes by the leftist parties by aligning themselves with neo-capitalist parties for their survival. The fifth class on “The path the revolution should take in Ceylon,” which was prepared later, has remained controversial, given it has been used to lure the youth into armed struggle to overthrow elected governments, which the JVP attempted twice, in April, 1971 and in the 1988-1989 period. The end result of these armed struggles was the deaths of thousands of people, mainly the youth, destruction to lives, property, and the economy; and a setback to the country in general. The focus of the JVP in its early days was on the rural proletariat, who Wijeweera felt were largely neglected by the traditional left, but the JVP of today has won over the population, cutting across economic and social classes. In the past sixty years, much has changed for the JVP, with its party leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake the executive president of the country, while the National People’s Power (NPP), headed by the JVP, is the ruling party with a formidable parliamentary majority. To mark its 60th anniversary on Wednesday, the JVP put on a show of force at Colombo’s Vihara Maha Devi Park open-air theatre, where President Dissanayake , JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva and many seniors addressed the large crowd, with party members turning up in red shirts and Mao’s red star beret. In his speech, President Dissanayake underscored that it was their courage to overcome many obstacles and not to be discouraged by the many hurdles put in its path that propelled the JVP to where it is today. “No political party in the country has faced difficulties that our party faced. Our camp has become a formidable force as we are prepared to face the truth. We are prepared to work tirelessly for the victory,” he said. The success of the current crop of the JVP has been their ability to adapt to changing times and a strong commitment not to repeat the bloody mistakes of its past. It has meant setting aside past prejudices and paranoia which would hinder the economic progress of the country and push the country backward instead of forward. The decision to present itself in a new political avatar as the National People’s Power (NPP) in 2019 was the first step by the JVP to rebrand itself in an image that would appeal to people across different demographies, social classes, ethnicities and religious groups. Since then, the JVP has also distanced itself, at least publicly, from the divisive and bloody politics of its leader Wijeweera and come out as a force that is willing to adapt to changing times. President Dissanayake has publicly apologised for the JVP violence of the past and vowed that there would be no return to the days when just hearing the party’s name was enough to make people run indoors and bolt the locks of their homes. However, the JVP remains a party with a split identity, with those within its inner circle remaining committed to revolutionary ideals. The JVP’s six-member, all-male politburo remains the main decision-making body, with what happens shrouded in secrecy. The General Secretary of the JVP, Tilvin Silva, though holding no official position in government, remains the powerful figure behind the movement, one of the few remaining links to the JVP of Wijeweera. While the NPP calls itself a dynamic political movement comprising 21 diverse groups, including political parties, youth organisations, women’s groups, trade unions, and civil society organisations, it’s a morphosis of the JVP founded by Wijeweera, and as the only notable political force within the alliance, it remains the main decision maker. AKD thanks voters for sending a message to party from LG results The Sino-Soviet communist ideologies of the past have crumbled by now, but there remains the likelihood of ideological differences with the JVP/NPP coming to the surface in the future. In his address to JVP supporters at its sixth anniversary, President Dissanayake, the party leader, told the crowd that he welcomed the message sent by them through the results of the recent local authorities election that the government needs to change course. “These are the kind of voters we want. The voters should be people who can think. They should show us when we are on the wrong path,” he said in an attempt to put a positive spin on the election results which showed a decline in public support for the NPP. Herein lies a future problem for the JVP/NPP alliance. A majority of voters who voted for the party in last year’s election do not identify with the ideology of the JVP and particularly not with what it stood for in the past. The challenge for the President and the politburo of the JVP is to balance its loyalties to the party faithful who worked tirelessly and waited patiently for their day in the sun and the expectations of the majority of voters, whose socio-economic woes remain a reality today as they did sixty years ago and whose needs far override party loyalties.