Background

Insurrection and a bitter 25-year civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have brought devastating political turmoil to Sri Lanka. Over 75,000 persons have lost their lives in fighting since the conflict surfaced in the 1970s when the Tamil population, concentrated in the North and East, began pressing for self-governance. When the government resisted, the LTTE organized and began a campaign of suicide bombings and attacks throughout the country. Several rounds of talks between the government and LTTE have failed to establish a lasting peace.

In February 2002, the government and LTTE signed a Norway-brokered ceasefire agreement intended to lay the groundwork for new talks. Sporadic violence continued despite the ceasefire and escalated dramatically in 2006 as talks stalled. By the time the government withdrew from the agreement in January 2008, more than 5,000 people had been killed since its signing.

Political Situation

Since the ceasefire’s end, violence has continued throughout the island, with major fighting in the north, bomb attacks in the south and east, and abductions in Colombo, Jaffna, and the east. The government and LTTE have come under strong international criticism for numerous political and civilian disappearances and assassinations, and threats against journalists.

The government continues its war campaign in an effort to unify the country. It consolidated last summer’s military gains in the east when the pro-government Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), an armed former LTTE faction, nearly swept March 2008 local elections in Batticaloa and led a government-aligned coalition to victory in Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) elections two months later. Domestic observers reported that both polls were marred by violence and irregularities.

Sri Lanka now faces at least two major tests of its commitments to democracy and resolution of the civil war. First, two provincial council elections are scheduled for August 23. In the wake of May’s problematic EPC elections, the polls are seen as a significant gauge of the commitment of the parties and government to peaceful, fair elections. Second, the All-Party Representative Committee (APRC), tasked with reaching an agreement on a strategy for devolution, is set to reconvene and work towards a consensus on the constitutional reforms necessary to end the war.

NDI Programs

NDI has conducted programs in Sri Lanka since 1995, including election monitoring assistance during parliamentary elections in 2000 and late 2001. In March 2004, the Institute provided technical assistance to local domestic election monitoring organizations for the April parliamentary and July provincial council elections. NDI also sponsored roundtable discussions across the country in which citizens, civic leaders, political party representatives, and election officials developed recommendations for electoral reform and strategies for their implementation. In preparation for the November 2005 presidential election, NDI worked to enhance the capacity of civil society organizations to monitor and report on the electoral process and analyze election coverage produced by national media outlets.

In January 2006, NDI began a two-year program to strengthen responsive dialogue and cooperation among political parties in the tsunami-affected southern and eastern districts. The program established six multi-party steering committees with membership from 18 political parties. The committees identified issues of common concern, and NDI provided the groups with expert, non-partisan mediators to help representatives develop consensus-based plans for addressing local issues, including those surrounding the ongoing ethnic conflict. The program also delivered constituency relations and leadership development training to district party organizations to assist them in becoming more responsive to local concerns.

Funding

Selected Publications

• Glossary of Political and Governance Terms (2008)
• One-Stop Election Manual (March 2008)
• From Dialogue to Action: Recommendations and Strategies for Electoral Reform in Sri-Lanka (December 2004)
• Report of the Post-Election Assessment of Sri Lanka Mission, November (December 2000)

Contact Information

For further information on Sri Lanka programs, please contact:

Dileepan Sivapathasundaram, Program Manager
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Updated August 2008