Sri Lanka’s presidential election is scheduled for Saturday, 21 September 2024. In anticipation of the election, many of the candidates have published manifestos detailing their visions for Sri Lanka. In the interest of comparing these visions for the country, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has prepared this document which categorises the policy proposals of the candidates in their manifestos. It was practically impossible to include the policy proposals made by all Presidential candidates in this document; as such, CPA had to limit itself to the manifestos of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mr. Sajith Premadasa, Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Mr. Namal Rajapaksa.
CPA divided the candidates’ policy proposals into the categories of economic governance, constitutional reforms, rights and related issues, infrastructure and accountability, truth, and reconciliation. We present the candidates’ proposals across these categories in five tables below, relying only on the exact words used in each candidate’s manifesto.
The table on Economic Governance contains policy proposals made by candidates on the issues of Taxation, Procurement, Globalization, IMF and FDI and other economic issues.
The table on Constitutional Reform contains policy proposals made by candidates on the issues of abolition of the Executive Presidency, the 13th Amendment and devolution of power, and other constitutional amendments proposed by the candidates.
The table on Rights and Related Issues contains policy proposals made by the candidates on access to justice, access to health care and education, women and children’s rights, social safety nets and worker’s rights, delayed elections, environment and climate change, and cultural and media rights.
The table on Infrastructure contains policy proposals made by the candidates on infrastructure, transportation and energy and technological development.
The table on Accountability, Truth, and Reconciliation contains policy proposals made by the candidates on accountability for serious human rights violations, the implementation of a public prosecutor’s office, reconciliation, the support and protection of minority rights and national security.
The content of each column for candidates are direct quotations from their individual manifestos on specific issues. Though CPA recognises the intersectionality of issues of many of the policy proposals made by candidates, the quotations inserted have been categorised based on the strength of relevance to the issue and ease of reference for the reader. CPA hopes that this document will be a useful tool for all citizens interested in learning more about the candidates and for anyone who is interested in engaging in a deeper analysis of the key policy proposals put forward by the candidates.
The table containing the policy proposals on Economic Governance can be viewed here.
The table containing the policy proposals on Constitutional Reform can be viewed here.
The table containing the policy proposals on Rights and Related Issues can be viewed here.
The table containing the policy proposals on Infrastructure can be viewed here.