Sri Lanka is a unitary multi-party semi-presidential representative democratic republic,whereby the President of Sri Lanka is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Ranil Wickremesinghe is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. Previously,he served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994,2001–2004,2015–2018,2018-2019 and in 2022. He held several ministerial roles,including Minister of Finance,Minister of Defence,Minister of Technology and Minister of Women,Child Affairs and Social Empowerment. Wickremesinghe has led the United National Party (UNP) since 1994 and has been Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on six occasions.
Sri Lanka elects on the national level a head of state –the president –and a legislature. Sri Lanka has a multi-party system,with two dominant political parties. All elections are administered by the Election Commission of Sri Lanka.
The United People's Freedom Alliance was a political alliance in Sri Lanka founded by former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2004 and dissolved by former Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in 2019.
The New Democratic Front is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. It was formed as a political party in 1995 after Srimani Athulathmudali,widow of assassinated politician Lalith Athulathmudali,split from the Democratic United National Front.
The Batalanda detention centre was an alleged detention centre located within the Batalanda Housing Scheme of the State Fertiliser Corporation in the village of Butalanda,situated in the Biyagama Electorate. It was used by the Counter Subversive Unit of the Sri Lanka Police during the 1987–89 JVP insurrection to detain persons who were linked to or suspected to have links to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP),as part of the counterinsurgency campaign launched by the United National Party (UNP) government led by President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
The Sri Lanka People's Front,commonly known by its Sinhalese name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP),is a political party in Sri Lanka. It was the ruling party in Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022 and was the largest party in parliament from 2020 to 2024. Previously a minor political party known as the Sri Lanka National Front (SLNF) and Our Sri Lanka Freedom Front (OSLFF),it was relaunched in 2016 as the SLPP and the party became the base for members of the United People's Freedom Alliance loyal to its former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Rajapaksa family.
The Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance was a political alliance led by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna formed in 2019. Initially,the alliance consisted of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP),the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and fifteen smaller parties.
The National People's Power (NPP) or Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) is a centre-left to left-wing political alliance in Sri Lanka. It was formed as a coalition of left-wing and progressive parties that aimed to present an alternative to the existing political establishment. The NPP emerged as a response to the perceived failures of traditional parties in the Sri Lankan political system. It is the current ruling party of Sri Lanka,having won the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections,and is currently the largest party in the Parliament of Sri Lanka. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the current leader of the party and Nihal Abeysinghe is the general secretary.
Teejay Lanka PLC formerly known as Textured Jersey Lanka is a knitted fabric manufacturer in Sri Lanka and is one of the constituents of the S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index of the Colombo Stock Exchange. The company is a supplier to the brands such as Nike,PVH,L Brands,Marks &Spencer,Decathlon,Lidl,and Calzedonia.
Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC is a Sri Lankan cement manufacturing company headquartered in Colombo. The company is engaged in manufacturing Portland cement,Pozzolana cement,tile adhesives and other cement products. Sri Lankan entrepreneur,A. Y. S. Gnanam founded the company in 1982. Tokyo Cement Company is a quoted company on the Colombo Stock Exchange since 1984. The company was one of the components of the S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index until June 2022. The company is ranked 29th amongst the LMD 100,an annual list of top 100 listed companies in Sri Lanka by revenue for the 2020/21 period.
WindForce PLC is the largest renewable energy private sector company in Sri Lanka. The company was incorporated in 2010 and in 2021 was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. The company commission,construct and operate power plants and generate power through wind,solar and hydropower.
Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC branded as Rocell,is a Sri Lankan holding company and is also engaged in manufacturing ceramic tiles and bath ware. The company was founded in 1990 and in 1994,it was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. The company is one of the constituents of the S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index. LMD,a Sri Lankan business magazine placed the company 38th in the LMD 100,a list of leading listed companies in Sri Lanka. Brand Finance ranked 74th amongst the 100 most valuable brands in Sri Lanka.
Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 September 2024. Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe ran for re-election as an independent candidate,making him the first sitting president to run for re-election since Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015. Other prominent candidates included Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa,Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the NPP,and Namal Rajapaksa,son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Citrus Leisure PLC is a hotel chain in Sri Lanka. The hospitality company owns and operates Citrus Waskaduwa,Citrus Hikkaduwa and the Steuart by Citrus. The company was incorporated as Hotel Reefcomber Limited in 1973. In 2010,the company was rebranded as Citrus Leisure when Dilith Jayaweera and Varuni Fernando of Triad Advertising bought a stake in the company. In 1984,the company was quoted on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Asiri Hospital Holdings PLC,doing business as Asiri Health,is the largest private healthcare provider in Sri Lanka. The company commenced operations in 1986 and was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in the same year. Asiri Hospitals operate six hospitals and collectively has over an 800-bed capacity. Softlogic Holdings is the parent company of Asiri Hospitals group. Asiri Hospital Holdings ranked 57th in the LMD 100,an annual list of listed companies by revenue,in the 2020/21 edition.
ACL Cables PLC is a cable manufacturing company in Sri Lanka. It manufactures and sells power cables,conductors,armoured cables and telephone cables. The company was established in 1962 as Associated Cables,a subsidiary of Associated Motorways. It was publicly quoted in 1976. In 1980,the company moved out of the Associated Motorways Group and was renamed ACL Cables in 1990. ACL Cables is one of the LMD 100 companies in Sri Lanka.
The Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya or Supreme Lanka Coalition is a political alliance in Sri Lanka formed in 2022. The coalition is made up of seven Sri Lankan leftist and nationalist parties who were formerly part of the SLPP-led Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance,before defecting to the opposition amidst the 2022 economic crisis and political crisis. The first conference of the alliance was held on 4 September 2022. Leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF) and former cabinet minister Wimal Weerawansa is the chairman of the Supreme Lanka Coalition.
The Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya is a political party in Sri Lanka,founded and led by media mogul,entrepreneur and lawyer Dilith Jayaweera. The party is a constituent member of the Sarvajana Balaya,a political alliance formed in 2024.
Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 14 November 2024 to elect 225 members to the new parliament. The 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka was dissolved on 24 September 2024. The submission of nominations for the election commenced on 4 October and concluded on 11 October 2024 at 12:00.
