Restoring people's faith in a political system that works for all

WHEN I visited Sri Lanka recently, a decade had passed since my first visit to the island. At that time, as now, there was a sense of possibility in the air. The people of Sri Lanka had cast off the Rajapaksa clan's control over the nation. New alliances were forged transcending ethnic, religious, and regional lines. And there were hopes - fragile but real - for a more just and inclusive future.

- By Binaifer Nowrojee

This time around, the hope runs deeper, more hard-earned, more urgent. The Aragalaya sparked a flame of hope across the nation. Everywhere I went, people spoke of it with pride - as a moment when fear was cast aside, and through peaceful protest citizens claimed their sovereignty. The 2022 movement was sparked by young people and women but joined by Sri Lankans of all backgrounds. For a moment, it dissolved the divisions that had come to define a fractured country under kleptocratic rule that had weakened Government institutions across decades. People were united behind a demand for systemic change.

This hope was manifested at the ballot box, where voters chose a third-party candidate for the first time, rejecting the traditional political elites. They gave President Aruna Kumara Disanayake and the National People's Power (NPP) both a political mandate and the supermajority needed to deliver major, much-needed reforms.

Window for political change is narrow

But not even a year later, a mood of caution is settling in the recognition that political transitions are difficult, that the window for political change is narrow, and if not seized with boldness and care, it can shut as quickly as it opened.

The euphoria of the moment has begun to sober, revealing a country where the high expectations of a new generation and the seemingly intractable challenges facing a new coalition government risk colliding. Political transitions often falter when governments lack the clout needed to drive through crucial reforms. This Government doesn't have that problem.