SRI Lanka has reasons to be satisfied with the response it is receiving from the international community. Three international monitoring bodies have chosen to give the government good reports. The first was the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance based in Sweden. Its Global State of Democracy Index for 2025 saw Sri Lanka jump 15 places since 2024 to the 58th out of 173 countries. In 2024, Sri Lanka was in the 73rd place. That rise reflects gains in elected government, the freedom of expression and press freedom. The report also stated that Sri Lanka ranked even higher and in the top 25 per cent of all countries regarding civic engagement and electoral participation.
The government also received commendation from the World Bank in its report for 2025. The report stated that Sri Lanka had made 鈥榬emarkable strides in stabilising its economy, undertaking one of the largest fiscal adjustments in its history.鈥� 鈥楾he adjustment was also sharper and faster by international standards, when compared with more than 330 similar efforts in 123 countries worldwide since 1980.鈥� The report also stated 鈥榯he country is now well positioned to focus on making public finances work better for all Sri Lankans.鈥� The report concluded that Sri Lanka could raise revenue by about 2 per cent of gross domestic product by 2029 without undercutting growth or fairness if public spending is better managed and targeted.
The government also fared better than expected at the ongoing session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Indeed, the government claimed that it had the support of 43 of the 47 countries in the UNHRC which appears to be an exaggeration as six of the 47 countries are co-sponsoring the resolution on Sri Lanka. However, many countries representing different regions spoke out in favour of Sri Lanka鈥檚 domestic efforts and critiqued international intervention. They welcomed the country鈥檚 continued engagement with the UN Human Rights Council as evidence of cooperation. There was also recognition of ongoing reforms and tangible progress in the country in regard to governance issues that have focused on dealing with issues of missing persons, return of land and repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. It is in the realm of root causes of inter-ethnic power sharing that the real challenge will lie.
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Power sharing
THERE has been pressure from both the UNHRC and the Indian government to hold the provincial council elections without delay. The draft UNHRC resolution for 2025 calls for the 13th amendment to be implemented and the need for genuine power-sharing. India has also been specific with its representative at the UNHRC stating that 鈥業ndia has consistently called for the full and effective implementation of the Sri Lankan constitution, early conduct of provincial council elections and meaningful devolution of power.鈥� Foreign minister Vijitha Herath鈥檚 response was that 鈥榯he elections for the provincial councils will be conducted by the independent elections commission once the delimitation process concludes.鈥� However, there are reports that the government is considering hold the provincial council elections without further delay.
The government needs to improve its credibility with respect to democracy by committing to hold provincial council elections sooner rather than later. The last provincial council elections were held in 2014 but since an abortive attempt was made to change the electoral law in 2017, no election has been held. The problem has been that the electoral reform process has got stuck due to the conflicting positions taken by political parties on the re-demarcation of electorates needed to implement the new electoral scheme by changing it from proportional representation to a mixed model consisting also of first past the post electorates. As the new delimitation process is complex and long-drawn, a proposal is under consideration to revert to the Provincial Councils Elections Act 1988 for the next election.
The importance of holding the provincial council elections at this time is two-fold. Opposition parties which face a governmental super-majority in parliament can hope to regain some of their lost influence by a better performance at the provincial council elections. The provincial councils constitute the second tier of political power that is closer to the people. A whole range of government services are carried out under the political supervision of the provincial councils if they are properly functioning. Provincial councils also bring in the ethnic dimension of power sharing as those provinces in which the ethnic and religious minorities predominate or are largely represented. Those elected from the provincial councils as representatives of the minority parties will be more sensitive to issues pertaining to the minorities.
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Malaiyaha Tamils
AN EXAMPLE would be the issue of postal services in the plantation sector. A meeting convened by the National Peace Council with the participation of government officials and civil society representatives of the affected communities brought this out and many other problems. Much of the housing infrastructure in the plantations continue to be based on the line rooms that the British colonial rulers built to house the plantation workers a century and a half ago. These dilapidated and tin roofed structures do not have postal addresses for individual families (some multiple families) who may inhabit a room in a row of line rooms. As a result, the people living in the line rooms often received important letters days or weeks late. They may lose out on job opportunities and even school and university admissions due to these delays and no fault of their own.
Dealing with the past is not only about war crimes which the UNHRC is focused on. It also includes rectifying the injustices done to the Malaiyaha Tamils from the time Sri Lanka received its Independence. The first independent government of the country unjustly deprived the Malaiyaha Tamil community of their citizenship and they have still to regain their rightful place as equal and valued citizens. Before the presidential election the NPP came out with the 鈥楬atton Declaration鈥� in which it promised to implement reforms in the plantation sector. In that declaration the NPP pledged to ensure equal citizenship rights and improved living conditions for estate workers. The pledges included ensuring land title deeds for lands currently lacking recognised ownership and utilising uncultivated or abandoned land in plantation areas to improve livelihoods, especially for unemployed youth among the community. These promises now need concrete follow through.
The World Bank analysis that the government will have more financial leeway that it can use for the benefit of all people demands that the urgent problems of the Malaiyaha Tamil people in the plantations can and should be addressed without delay. In his statement to the UNHRC, UN High Commissioner said, 鈥楽upport for the Malaiyahar Tamil community needs to be a priority.鈥� There was a commendable spirit of goodwill on the part of both the government officials from the district secretariat in Nuwara Eliya and the civil society representatives with whom they met. If the institutions of power are opened up, grievances are addressed, and rights restored in both law and practice, there can be a turning point in governance. The choice now is whether the NPP government will open a new chapter to bind together the country鈥檚 people through fairness and shared power or allow old exclusions and delays to weaken its promise.
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Jehan Perera is executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka.
