View source for Politics of Sri Lanka

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{{Infobox political system
| name                          = Politics of Sri Lanka
| image                         = Emblem of Sri Lanka.svg
| image_size                    = 90
| caption                       = [[Emblem of Sri Lanka|National Emblem of Sri Lanka]]
| type                          = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Multi-party system|multi-party]] [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] [[Representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[republic]]
| constitution                  = [[Constitution of Sri Lanka]]
| legislature                   = [[Parliament of Sri Lanka|Parliament]]
| legislature_type              = [[Unicameralism|Unicameral]]
| legislature_place             = [[Sri Lankan Parliament Building|Sri Lanka Parliament]]
| lowerhouse_speaker            = [[Jagath Wickramaratne]]
| lowerhouse_speaker_title      = [[Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka]]
| lowerhouse_appointer          = 
| title_hos                     = [[President of Sri Lanka|President]]
| current_hos                   = [[Anura Kumara Dissanayake]]
| appointer_hos                 = Direct election
| title_hog                     = [[Prime Minister of Sri Lanka|Prime Minister]]
| current_hog                   = [[Harini Amarasuriya]]
| appointer_hog                 = President
| cabinet                       = [[Cabinet of Sri Lanka]]
| current_cabinet               = [[Second Dissanayake cabinet|Dissanayake cabinet]]
| cabinet_leader                = President
| cabinet_deputyleader          = 
| cabinet_appointer             = President
| cabinet_hq                    =
| cabinet_ministries            = [[List of ministries of Sri Lanka|29]]
| judiciary                     = [[Judiciary of Sri Lanka|Judiciary]]
| judiciary_head                = [[N.V Ramana]]
| courts                        =
| court                         = [[Supreme Court of Sri Lanka|Supreme Court]]
| chief_judge                   = [[Murdu Fernando]]
}}{{Politics of Sri Lanka}}{{Elections}}
 
[[Sri Lanka]] is a [[Unitary state|unitary]] [[Multi-party system|multi-party]] [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] [[Representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[republic]], whereby the [[President of Sri Lanka]] is both [[head of state]] and [[head of government]]. [[Executive power]] is exercised by the President on the advice of the [[Prime Minister of Sri Lanka|Prime Minister]] and the [[Cabinet of Sri Lanka|Cabinet of Ministers]]. [[Legislative power]] is vested in the [[Parliament of Sri Lanka|Parliament]]. The [[judiciary]] is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Starting from the early 1950s, the two main parties of Sri Lanka were the [[social democratic]] [[Sri Lanka Freedom Party]] and the [[Liberal conservatism|liberal conservative]] [[United National Party]] for several decades. Recently, however, the influence of the two parties has diminished significantly; currently, the two main parties are the [[National People's Power]], a [[left-wing]] alliance led by the [[Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna]], and the [[Samagi Jana Balawegaya]], which split from the UNP in 2020. [[List of political parties in Sri Lanka|Other notable parties]] include the [[Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna]], the [[Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi]], and the [[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]].

{{Democracy Index rating|Sri Lanka|flawed democracy|2022}}

== Executive branch ==
{{office-table}}
|[[President of Sri Lanka|President]]
|[[Anura Kumara Dissanayake]]
|[[National People's Power]]
|23 September 2024
|-
|[[Prime Minister of Sri Lanka|Prime Minister]]
|[[Harini Amarasuriya]]
|[[National People's Power]]
|24 September 2024
|}
The president, directly elected for a five-year term, is the [[head of state]], [[head of government]], and [[commander-in-chief]] of the armed forces. The election occurs under the [[Sri Lankan contingent vote|Sri Lankan form of the contingent vote]]. Responsible to Parliament for the exercise of duties under the constitution and laws, the president may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of Parliament with the concurrence of the Supreme Court.

The president appoints and heads a [[Cabinet of Sri Lanka|cabinet]] of ministers responsible to Parliament. The president's deputy is the [[prime minister]], who leads the ruling party in Parliament. A parliamentary no-confidence vote requires dissolution of the cabinet and the appointment of a new one by the President.

== Legislative branch ==
The [[Parliament of Sri Lanka|Parliament]] has 225 members, elected for a five-year term: 196 members elected in multi-seat [[constituency|constituencies]] and 29 by [[proportional representation]].

The primary modification is that the party that receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique "bonus seat" (''see'' Hickman, 1999). The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and can dissolve Parliament at any time once a year has passed since the last general elections (except in a few limited circumstances). The President can also dissolve Parliament before the completion of one year, if requested to do so by a resolution signed by at least half the MPs. Parliament reserves the power to make all laws. Since its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

== Political parties and elections ==
{{elect|List of political parties in Sri Lanka|Elections in Sri Lanka}}
In August 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that presidential elections would be held in November 2005, resolving a long-running dispute on the length of President Kumaratunga's term. Prime Minister [[Mahinda Rajapaksa]] was nominated the [[Sri Lanka Freedom Party|SLFP]] candidate and former Prime Minister [[Ranil Wickremesinghe]] as the [[United National Party|UNP]] candidate. The election was held on 17 November 2005, and Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected the 5th Executive President of Sri Lanka winning 50.3% of valid votes, compared to Ranil Wickramasinghe's 48.4%. Mahinda Rajapaksa took oath as president on 19 November 2005. [[Ratnasiri Wickramanayake]] was appointed the 22nd Prime Minister on 21 November 2005, to fill the post vacated by Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was previously Prime Minister from 2000 until 2001.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa lost the [[2015 Sri Lankan presidential election|2015 presidential elections]], ending his ten-year presidency. However, his successor, President [[Maithripala Sirisena]], decided not to seek re-election in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=President Maithripala Sirisena to not contest Sri Lanka polls |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/6/president-maithripala-sirisena-to-not-contest-sri-lanka-polls |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref> This enabled the Rajapaksa family to regain power in the [[2019 Sri Lankan presidential election|2019 presidential elections.]] Mahinda Rajapaksa's younger brother and former wartime defence chief [[Gotabaya Rajapaksa]] won the election, and was sworn in as the 7th Executive President of Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/03/05/sri-lankas-ruling-party-calls-an-election-hoping-for-a-landslide|title = Sri Lanka's ruling party calls an election, hoping for a landslide|newspaper = The Economist|date = 5 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/17/world/asia/sri-lanka-Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-election.html|title = Gotabaya Rajapaksa Wins Sri Lanka Presidential Election|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 17 November 2019|last1 = Bastians|first1 = Dharisha|last2 = Schultz|first2 = Kai}}</ref> The Rajapaksa's firm grip of power consolidated in the [[2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|parliamentary elections]] held in August 2020. The family's political party, the [[Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna]] (known by its initials SLPP) won a landslide victory and a clear majority in the parliament, and five members of the Rajapaksa family won a seat in the parliament. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa became the new prime minister.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/8/9/mahinda-rajapaksa-sworn-in-as-sri-lankas-pm-after-record-victory|title = Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as Sri Lanka's PM}}</ref>

On 23 September 2024, [[Anura Kumara Dissanayake]] was sworn in as Sri Lanka's new president after winning the presidential [[2024 Sri Lankan presidential election|election]] as a left-wing candidate.<ref>{{cite news |title=Anura Kumara Dissanayake sworn in as Sri Lanka's president |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqxr03x4dvzo |work=www.bbc.com}}</ref>  On 14 November 2024, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's [[National People's Power]] (NPP), a left-leaning alliance, received a two-thirds majority in parliament in Sri Lankan [[2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|parliamentary election.]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Sri Lanka: Left-leaning leader's coalition secures landslide victory |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crr9n2w0lyzo |work=www.bbc.com}}</ref>

=== 2024 presidential election ===
{{#section-h:2024 Sri Lankan presidential election|Results}}

=== 2024 parliamentary election ===
=== National ===
{{transcluded section|source=2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election}}
{{#section:2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|2024 Parliamentary election national summary}}

== Administrative divisions ==
The local government is divided into two parallel structures, the civil service, which dates back to colonial times, and the provincial councils, established in 1987.

=== Civil Service structure ===
The country is divided into 25 [[Districts of Sri Lanka|districts]], each of which has a district secretary (the government agent or GA) who is appointed. Each district has 5–16 divisions, each with a divisional secretary who is also appointed. At a village level, Grama Niladari (Village Officers), Samurdhi Niladari (Development Officers) and agriculture extension officers all work for their respective divisional secretaries.

=== Provincial Council structure ===
Under the [[Indo-Sri Lanka Accord]] signed in 1987 and the subsequent [[13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka|13th Amendment to the Constitution]], the Government of Sri Lanka agreed to devolve some authority to the [[Provinces of Sri Lanka|provinces]]. Provincial councils are directly elected for five-year terms. The leader of the council majority serves as the province's Chief Minister with a board of ministers; a provincial governor is appointed by the president.

The Provincial Councils have full statute making power with respect to the Provincial Council List, and shared statute making power respect to the [[Concurrent List]]. While all matters set out in the [[Reserved List]] are under the central government.

Despite the existence of the 13th amendment, provincial council elections have not been held since [[March 2014 Sri Lankan provincial council elections|2014]].

=== Local government structure ===
{{Main|Local government in Sri Lanka}}
Below the provincial level are elected Municipal Councils and Urban Councils, responsible for municipalities and cities respectively, and below this level Pradeshiya Sabhas (village councils), again elected. There are [[Municipal councils of Sri Lanka|24 Municipal Councils]], [[Urban councils of Sri Lanka|41 Urban Councils]] and [[Pradeshiya Sabha|276 Pradeshiya Sabhas]].

== Judicial branch ==
[[Judiciary of Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka's judiciary]] consists of a [[Supreme Court of Sri Lanka|Supreme Court]], Court of Appeal, High Court, and a number of subordinate courts. Sri Lanka's legal system is reflective of the country's diverse cultural influences. Criminal law is fundamentally British. Basic civil law is Roman-Dutch, but laws pertaining to marriage, divorce, and inheritance are communal, known as respectively as Kandyan,
''Thesavalamai'' ([[Sri Lankan Tamils|Jaffna Tamil]]) and Muslim (Roman-Dutch law applies to Low-country [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]], [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|Estate Tamils]] and others).

; Courts of law
* [[Supreme Court of Sri Lanka]] 
* [[Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka]]
* High Court of Sri Lanka
* District Courts 
* Magistrate's Courts
* Primary Courts

== Foreign relations of Sri Lanka ==
{{Main|Foreign relations of Sri Lanka}}
Sri Lanka generally follows a non-aligned foreign policy but has been seeking closer relations with the [[United States]] since 1977. It participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the [[United Nations]], where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] (NAM). It also is a member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] (SAARC), the [[World Bank]], [[International Monetary Fund]], [[Asian Development Bank]], and the Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance it places on regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC.

Sri Lanka is member of the [[International Atomic Energy Agency|IAEA]], [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|IBRD]], [[Asian Development Bank|ADB]], [[Commonwealth of Nations|C]], [[Colombo Plan|CP]], [[Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific|ESCAP]], [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]], [[Group of 24|G-24]], [[Group of 77|G-77]], [[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]], [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|ICRM]], [[International Development Association|IDA]], [[International Fund for Agricultural Development|IFAD]], [[International Finance Corporation|IFC]], [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|IFRCS]], [[International Hydrographic Organization|IHO]], [[International Labour Organization|ILO]], [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]], [[International Maritime Organization|IMO]], [[International Mobile Satellite Organization|Inmarsat]], [[Intelsat]], [[Interpol (organization)|Interpol]], [[IOC]], [[International Organization for Migration|IOM]], [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]], [[International Telecommunication Union|ITU]], [[Non-Aligned Movement|NAM]], [[Organization of American States|OAS]] (observer), [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons|OPCW]], [[Permanent Court of Arbitration|PCA]], [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation|SAARC]], [[United Nations|UN]], [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development|UNCTAD]], [[UNESCO]], [[United Nations Industrial Development Organization|UNIDO]], [[United Nations University|UNU]], [[Universal Postal Union|UPU]], [[World Confederation of Labour|WCL]], [[World Customs Organization|WCO]], [[World Federation of Trade Unions|WFTU]], [[World Health Organization|WHO]], [[World Intellectual Property Organization|WIPO]], [[World Meteorological Organization|WMO]], [[World Tourism Organization|WToO]], and [[World Trade Organization|WTrO]].

The growing interest of other countries in making their claims to Sri Lanka's strategic assets has been generating heated discussion both within national and international circles. [[China]], [[India]] and [[Japan]]'s involvement in Sri Lankan [[seaport]] developments is a direct consequence of the ongoing tussle among the three nations to establish a firm foothold in the strategically located island state.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://opedcolumn.news.blog/2019/06/20/rivals-competing-over-sri-lanka-seaports|title=Rivals Competing over Sri Lanka's Seaports|last=Weerakoon|first=Dushni|date=June 20, 2019|website=OpedColumn.News.Blog}}</ref>

== Political pressure groups ==
Civil society participation in decision-making and opinion-shaping in Sri Lanka is very poor. Professionals, civil society groups, and media rarely play significant roles in Sri Lankan politics, and as a result many aspects of the lives of ordinary citizens are politicized. In addition, the vacuum created by the silence and inactivity of civil society has led to radical groups such as ethnic/religious-based groups, trade unions and NGOs assuming lead roles as political pressure groups.

== See also ==
* [[List of rulers of Ceylon]]
* [[List of presidents of Sri Lanka]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Sri Lanka]]
* [[Leftist parties in Sri Lanka]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=ndf|Member of the [[United National Party]] officially running as independent, endorsed by the UNP and [[Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna|SLPP]] breakaway faction}}
<!--{{efn|name=unp|Member of the [[United National Party]] officially running as independent, endorsed by the UNP and [[Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna|SLPP]] breakaway faction}}  -->
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==

{{Refbegin|2}}

* Hickman, J. 1999.  "Explaining the Two-Party System in Sri Lanka's National Assembly."  ''Contemporary South Asia, Volume 8, Number 1'' (March), pp.&nbsp;29–40  (A detailed description of the effects of the bonus seat provision).
* [[James Jupp]], Sri Lanka: Third World Democracy, London: Frank Cass and Company, Limited, 1978.

{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Robert C. Oberst. "Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka", ''Publius'', Vol. 18, No. 3, The State of American Federalism, 1987 (Summer, 1988), pp.&nbsp;175–193

== External links ==
* [http://www.governor.up.gov.lk Office of the Governor –  Uva / ඌව පලාත් ආණ්ඩුකාරවර කාර්යාලය  ]
{{wikiversity|Beneath the Sandy Beaches: A Tale of Disarray}}

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