By Vishvanath
An argument is being peddled in some quarters that the general secretaries of political parties have discretionary powers to appoint anyone of their choice to the parliament through the National List (NL) although the Election Commission (EC) has categorically stated that only the NL...
Nationalistic forces clawing their way up
by Vishvanath
The JVP-led NPP government has chosen to tread cautiously although it was expected to get off to a flying start. This may be due to the steep learning curve it is facing, among...
By Vishvanath
Rational thinking and power are mutually exclusive, in this country, as is public knowledge. Power acts as an intoxicant and drives the wielders of it to extremes, in most cases. Electoral defeats have a sobering effect on politicians...
Inauguration of 10th Parliament:
by Vishvanath
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake sought to break away from tradition at the inauguration of the 10th Parliament on Thursday (21). He travelled in the front seat of his presidential vehicle, opened the door himself, got off and...
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...
