Finance

Sri Lanka To Hold First Election Since Unrest

Published JAN 4 2023

Story

Image credit: AP [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

Sri Lankan officials announced on Wednesday that local government polls would be held by the end of February, marking the country's first nationwide elections since former Pres. Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled and resigned in the face of widespread protests.
Al Jazeera
The National Election Commission stated it will accept nominations from Jan. 18-21 for the local council polls, which have been postponed since March of last year, adding that a date for the elections would be set a week thereafter.
The Times of India
Elections need to be held before March 10, as members of the local government bodies must be appointed by March 20, but a writ petition has also been filed before the Supreme Court asking to suspend elections due to Sri Lanka's ongoing currency crisis.
EconomyNext
This comes after the Election Commission disregarded attempts by Parliament-elected Pres. Ranil Wickremesinghe to stall the polls on claims that the crisis-hit country cannot afford to pay the $27.6M they would cost.
RFI
Inflation has reached a near-70% record this year as the country has faced acute shortages of electricity, food, and fuel since late 2021, with the former Rajapaksa government defaulting on Sri Lanka's $46B external debt in April.
Al Jazeera
Last week, Sri Lankan Minister of State for Finance Shehan Semasinghe declared that the government strongly believes that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will formally approve Sri Lanka's $2.9B bailout in the first quarter of 2023.
Colombopage

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Local elections must be welcomed as the first step to restoring normalcy in Sri Lanka following months of nationwide protests along with political and economic turmoil. Softening dissent and providing stability for the country, however, will require general elections so as to ensure those implementing reforms have a public mandate.

Nikkei Asia

Narrative B

It should be evident by now that elections alone will not solve the Sri Lankan crisis as it has been engendered by the very nature of the country's political system, which has focused on short-term planning for more than 75 years. Though Sri Lanka is bankrupt, politicians remain unable to join efforts to agree on an economic framework to lift the country out of its chaos.