By Vishvanath
A 21-member new Cabinet has been appointed, and the JVP-led NPP is now about to learn what it is like to wield unbridled power, which it had been dreaming of for decades.
The people have given President Anura Kumara...
by Vishvanath
All political leaders, especially President and JVP-led NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake and SJB chief Sajith Premadasa are on tenterhooks, given the extremely high stakes they have in today’s parliamentary election. Unless they improve the electoral performance of...
by Vishvanath
There is no bigger shame for an incumbent President than to suffer a crushing defeat in a presidential election. The first president to have that experience was Mahinda Rajapaksa. He in his wisdom amended the Constitution and sought...
by Vishvanath
Sri Lanka is known for its high voter enthusiasm, which is however not reflected in the unfolding scenario ahead of the Nov. 14 general election. Victory in one election usually gives a big fillip to the winner’s efforts...
by Vishvanath
Politics is like a minefield, especially for a government in power; one wrong step could entail a huge political cost. The fuel price revision for November has triggered a wave of public resentment, with the next general election...
By Vishvanath
It is a thing of no great difficulty to raise objections against another man’s oration, nay, it is very easy; but to produce a better one in its place is a work extremely troublesome - Plutarch
Truism in Plutarch’s aforesaid words of...
by Vishvanath
The prolonged drought of elections has come to an end, and we are now experiencing the onset of an electoral monsoon, in a manner of speaking. There have already been two elections since last month, with parliamentary polls slated for next month. The local...
By Vishvanath
The NPP government was fighting a political battle with a section of the Opposition over a presidential committee report on the failure of state intelligence agencies to thwart the Easter Sunday carnage, carried out by a jihadist group...
by Vishvanath
Two important events are scheduled to take place during the current week (Oct. 20-27). One is the release by an Opposition politician of two probe committee reports on the Easter Sunday terrorist bombings, on Monday (21). Two committees...
By Vishvanath
Everything is now ready for next month’s general election. Time is fast running out. Political leaders are girding up their loins, despite election fatigue, and their campaigns will be in full swing shortly.
The general consensus is that the...
By Vishvanath
Nominations for next month’s parliamentary election closed today (Oct. 11), and all political parties that participated in last month’s parliamentary polls have had to overcome campaign fatigue and be up and running again, with time fast running out. This is...
By Vishvanath
It is popularly said that between saying and doing many a pair of shoes is worn out. Perhaps, nothing exemplifies this truism better than the notable mismatch between campaign rhetoric and delivery on the ground after elections, especially...