An Electoral Path-breaker
This article was published more than ten years ago. The information it contains may be incomplete or out of date.
Two portentous results emerged from the parliamentary election in Sri Lanka. The ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) led by President Mahinda Rajapakse won a resounding victory, just short of the two-thirds majority needed for a constitutional change. And almost 40% of the electorate did not vote. The UPFA’s outstanding win at Thursday’s election may mark the definitive beginning of a new journey for Sri Lanka, away from pluralist democracy, towards an authoritarian state, which functions as a protective father to its supporters and a bitter enemy to its opponents. Read more