Author: Centre for Policy Alternatives

Technocratic Populism and the Pandemic State

This paper examines the ways in which the Sri Lankan Government has been able to employ a counterintuitive and underexamined type of populist rhetoric, that of technocratic populism. It looks at the ways in which both technocratic and populist narratives are combined, creating an ideological framework which serves to sanitize increasingly authoritarian actions. It focuses […]

Q and A on Regulations Issued under the Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance & how this impacts the COVID-19 response in Sri Lanka

Following the detection of a spate of new COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka, regulations were made by the Minister of Health under Sections 2 and 3 of the Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance (the Ordinance) by Gazette Extraordinary No. 2197/25 of Thursday, October 15, 2020. This guide briefly examines the legal framework relating to […]

Written Submissions by the CPA on the Case re the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution

On 23 September 2020, The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and its Executive Director, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu filed a Petition in the Supreme Court challenging the proposed Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution. A Brief overview of the Petition filed on behalf of CPA and its Executive Director is available here. The CPA’s basic position was […]

Interview: The Threat to Democracy Through the 20th Amendment

30th September 2020, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, in conversation with Faraz Shaukataly on Newsline Live broadcasted on Newsfirst. Dr. Saravanamuttu speaks about the grave threat to democracy through the proposed 20th Amendment to the constitution which attempts to roll back checks and balances introduced […]

The Centre for Policy Alternatives vs. The Attorney General [SC. SD. 03 /2020] in re the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution [2020]

23rd September 2020, A Bill titled ‘The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution’ (the Bill) was placed on the Order Paper of Parliament on 22nd of September 2020. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and its Executive Director, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu filed a Petition in the Supreme Court today (23rd September 2020) in terms of Articles 120 and […]

Right to Privacy in Sri Lanka

The right to privacy includes the right of individuals to lead their lives in a manner that is reasonably secluded from public scrutiny, and the right to make personal decisions regarding their lives. The importance of privacy and the multitude of practices through which privacy is breached are not fully appreciated by policymakers, businesses as […]

A brief Q and A on the Proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution

This brief guide is prepared by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) to highlight salient features of the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution. CPA also released a Statement on the 20th Amendment on 4 September 2020. Download this Q and A in English, Sinhala and Tamil. What is the Twentieth Amendment? The Twentieth Amendment […]