2025 Sri Lankan Local Elections
Local elections were held in Sri Lanka on 6 May 2025 According to the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, of the 17,296,330 registered voters nationwide, 17,156,338 were eligible to vote in this election. Voters elected 8,793 members for a four-year term to 339 of the 341 local authorities in the country, comprising 28 municipal councils, 36 urban councils, and 275 pradeshiya sabhas. The ruling National People's Power (NPP) emerged as the largest party, winning 3,927 council seats and securing 43.26% of the vote, a notable decline from their result in the parliamentary elections the previous year. Voter turnout was relatively low, recorded at 61.88%, compared to 79.46% in the recent presidential election and 68.93% in the parliamentary election. Background Sri Lanka's last local government elections in 2018 resulted in the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) securing a majority with 40% of the vote. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, contesting under the SLPP, subsequently won the 2019 S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sri Lanka Standard Time
Sri Lankan Standard Time (SLST) (, ) is the time zone for Sri Lanka. It is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT/ UTC ( UTC+05:30) as observed since 15 April 2006. Sri Lanka does not currently observe daylight saving time. History On 15 April 2006, Sri Lanka Time reverted to match Indian Standard Time calculated from the Allahabad Observatory in India 82.5° longitude East of Greenwich, the reference point for GMT. This time zone applies to the entirety of Sri Lanka. Since 1880, the time zone in Sri Lanka (or formerly, Ceylon) has varied from UTC+05:30 to UTC+06:30. * In 1880, Ceylon observed UTC+05:30. * During World War II, in January 1942, when the Japanese were on the verge of invading Ceylon, the official time shifted to UTC+06:00. * In September 1942, the official time further advanced to UTC+06:30. * When the war ended in 1945, Ceylon reverted to UTC+05:30 to be in the same time zone as India. However, in May 1996, Sri Lanka switched to UTC+06:30 for dayligh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National People's Power
The National People's Power (NPP), known in Sinhala language, Sinhala as Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB), is a left-wing politics, left-wing Electoral alliance, political alliance in Sri Lanka. It is the current ruling party of Government of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, having won the 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election, 2024 presidential and 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, parliamentary elections, and is currently the largest party in the Parliament of Sri Lanka. President of Sri Lanka, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the current leader of the party and Nihal Abeysinghe is the general secretary. Established in 2019, the NPP consists of 21 diverse groups, including political parties and other organisations led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. It contests in elections under the compass symbol. Considered an electorally weak Third party (politics), third-party prior to 2024, it briefly formed a First Dissanayake cabinet, minority government under president Anura Kumara Di ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Supreme Court Of Sri Lanka
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Sri Lanka and the final judicial instance of record. Established in 1801 and empowered to exercise its powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the Supreme Court has court of last resort, ultimate appellate jurisdiction in constitutional matters and takes precedence over all lower courts. The Judiciary of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan judicial system is a complex blend of common law and Civil law (legal system), civil law. In some cases, such as those involving capital punishment, the decision may be passed on to the President of Sri Lanka for clemency petitions. The current Chief Justice of Sri Lanka is Murdu Fernando. History The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka was created on 18 April 1801 with the "Royal Charter of Justice of 1801 of King George the 3rd establishing the Supreme Courts of the Island of Ceylon" by the British, who controlled most of the island at the time, excluding the inl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leader Of The Opposition (Sri Lanka)
In Sri Lanka, the leader of the opposition is the leader of the largest political party in Parliament that is not a part of the government. This is usually the leader of the second-largest party in Parliament. Leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Sajith Premadasa has been the incumbent leader of the opposition in the Parliament since 3 January 2020. He was officially sworn in on 20 August 2020, after the speaker announced his appointment in parliament. Privileges of office Salary In 2016, the leader of the opposition received a salary month and other entitlements of a Member of Parliament. Other privileges The leader of the opposition is entitled to an official residence, office, transport and security equal that of a Cabinet Minister. Order of precedence In the Sri Lankan order of precedence, the leader of the opposition is ranked at the level of a Cabinet Minister in the order of precedence. Leaders of the opposition (1947–present) ;Parties See also *Presi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2024 Sri Lankan Presidential Election
Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 September 2024. Incumbent President of Sri Lanka, president Ranil Wickremesinghe ran for re-election as an Independent politician, independent candidate, making him the first sitting president to run for re-election since Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election, 2015. Other prominent candidates included Leader of the Opposition (Sri Lanka), Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People's Power, NPP, and Namal Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The election was a three-way contest between Wickremesinghe, Premadasa and Dissanayake. For the first time in a Sri Lankan presidential election, no candidate received a majority of the vote. Dissanayake was in first place with 42%, followed by Premadasa with 33%. Incumbent president Wickremesinghe finished third, receiving only 17% of the vote. As no candidate received a majority, second preference votes w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2022 Sri Lankan Presidential Election
Indirect presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 20 July 2022 following the resignation of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 14 July. The president of Sri Lanka was elected by the Parliament in a secret ballot to decide who would complete the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa's term. Candidates were nominated in the Parliament on 19 July in advance of the election the following day. Ranil Wickremesinghe won the election with 134 votes and was elected as the ninth President of Sri Lanka. The election, which was held amid a political crisis, was the first time in the history of Sri Lanka that a vote took place in Parliament to elect a President. Procedure According to the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act of 1981, "Where the office of President becomes vacant in terms of paragraph (1) of Article 38 of the Constitution, as provided by Article 40 of the Constitution, Parliament shall elect as President one of its members who is qualified to be elected to the off ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2022 Sri Lankan Political Crisis
The 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis was a political crisis in Sri Lanka due to the power struggle between President of Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the people of Sri Lanka. It was fueled by the 2022 Sri Lankan protests, anti-government protests and demonstrations by the public due to the 2019–present Sri Lankan economic crisis, economic crisis in the country. The anti-government sentiment across various parts of Sri Lanka has triggered significant political instability in the nation. The political crisis began on 3 April 2022, after all 26 members of the Second Gotabaya Rajapaksa cabinet with the exception of Prime Minister Rajapaksa resigned en masse overnight. Some critics argued that the resignation did not follow constitutional protocol, questioning its validity, and several were reinstated in different ministries the next day. There were even growing calls on forming a caretaker government to run the country or for snap elections, but the latter option was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2022 Sri Lankan Protests
The 2022 Sri Lankan protests, commonly known as Aragalaya (), were a series of mass protests that began in March 2022 against the government of Sri Lanka. The government was heavily criticized for mismanaging the Economy of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan economy, which led to 2019–present Sri Lankan economic crisis, a subsequent economic crisis involving severe inflation, daily blackouts, and a shortage of fuel, domestic gas, and other essential goods. The protesters' main demand was the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and key officials from the Rajapaksa family. Despite the involvement of several opposition parties, most protesters considered themselves to be Apoliticism, apolitical, with many expressing discontent with the parliamentary opposition. Protesters chanted slogans such as "Go Home Gota", "Go Home Rajapaksas", and "Aragalayata Jaya Wewa" ("Victory to the struggle"). Most protests were organized by the general public, with youths playing a major part by carrying ou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sri Lankan Economic Crisis (2019–present)
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Assamese, Meitei ( Manipuri), Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Sinhalese, Thai, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Assamese, Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, Khmer, and also among Philippine languages. It is usually transliterated as ''Sri'', ''Sree'', ''Shri'', ''Shiri'', ''Shree'', ''Si'', or ''Seri'' based on the local convention for transliteration. In Tamil it evolved to Tiru. The term is used in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language. "Shri" is also used as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for individuals. "Shri" is also an epithet for Hindu goddess Lakshmi, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, it spread to other areas of Asia, and COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory, then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and assessed the outbreak as having become a pandemic on 11 March. COVID-19 symptoms range from asymptomatic to deadly, but most commonly include fever, sore throat, nocturnal cough, and fatigue. Transmission of COVID-19, Transmission of the virus is often airborne transmission, through airborne particles. Mutations have variants of SARS-CoV-2, produced many strains (variants) with varying degrees of infectivity and virulence. COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly and deplo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2020 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election
Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 5 August 2020 to elect 225 members to Sri Lanka's 16th Parliament. 16,263,885 people were eligible to vote in the election, 31.95% of whom were young voters. The incumbent Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance coalition claimed a landslide victory in the election, winning 145 seats, while Samagi Jana Balawegaya won 54 seats, Tamil National Alliance won 10 seats and National People's Power won 3 seats. The main opposition United National Party suffered its worst showing in history following a split over party leadership, finishing in fifth place with only one seat. The election was postponed at least twice due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, before the date was finalized as 5 August 2020. Prior to the election, a coronavirus-proof mock election was conducted by the Election Commission in June 2020 as a trial run in order to comply with health guidelines. Initial reports revealed that the overall voter turnout was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2019 Sri Lankan Presidential Election
Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 16 November 2019. Incumbent president Maithripala Sirisena did not run for a second term. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, was the candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and was endorsed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Sajith Premadasa, son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa and deputy leader of the United National Party was the candidate of the ruling party. The results were announced on 17 November 2019. Rajapaksa won the election in a landslide victory, receiving 52% of the vote compared his main opponent Premadasa's 42%. The results of the election subsequently brought the Rajapaksa family back to power after a 5-year interregnum. Sirisena's term of office would have ended on 9 January 2020. This was the first presidential election in Sri Lanka where no sitting president, prime minister or opposition leader ran for president. Electoral system The President of Sri Lanka is el ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |