Tackling corruption amidst controversies

Sri Lanka is facing significant controversies surrounding two key ‘AG’ positions the Attorney General and the Auditor General which have created political tension and accusations of institutional interference against the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna -led National People’s Power (NPP) Government.

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These two positions are undoubtedly very important in the NPP’s drive against corruption, possibly the foremost election promises of the party on which all other promises and its entire economic programme are positioned. The Daily Mirror on Friday reported that despite political rhetoric for eradication of corruption, the situation in Sri Lanka has taken a turn for the worse.

According to the report, the country now ranking 24.7, a drop by 7.3 notches in the Global Corruption Perception Index in 2025 prepared by World Economics which is a UK-based research organisation. Sri Lanka ranked 32 out of 100 in the index in 2024, 34 in 2023, 36 in 2022 and 37 in 2021, according to data from the Transparency International on which the World Economics report is also based.

The dip in the Sri Lanka’s position in corruption perception index during the past governments and the NPP Government cannot be attributed to the same factors as the leaders of the previous governments seemed involved in most high-profile corrupt incidents.