A half year after Maithripala Sirisena’s stunning defeat of President
Mahinda Rajapaksa raised hopes for democratic renaissance, the
complexities of partisan politics, and Rajapaksa himself, have returned
to centre stage. Sirisena’s initial months with a minority government
led by the United National Party (UNP) have opened important political
space: robust debate and criticism have replaced the fear under
Rajapaksa, and important governance reforms have been made, but much
remains undone. By initial steps on reconciliation, the government set a
more accommodating tone on the legacy of the civil war and the ethnic
conflict that drove it. But divisions within government and Sirisena’s
failure to take control of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) prevented
deeper reform and allowed Rajapaksa and his supporters to mount a
comeback. With Sirisena opposing Rajapaksa’s return, the 17 August
parliamentary elections will test the continued appeal of the
ex-president’s hardline Sinhala nationalism and give a chance for the
fresh start that lasting solutions to the country’s social divisions
require.Read more>>>
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