05 September 2015

Editorial: Sri Lanka’s New Cabinet is Sworn In, As Geneva Beckons

By Taylor Dibbert

As Sri Lanka’s new government takes shape, the country’s reckoning with its past looms on the horizon.

Sri Lanka’s new cabinet was officially sworn in today. Most members are from the United National Party (UNP). With the formal establishment of a “national government,” the country’s two main political parties, the UNP and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) are now working together (although there had been some disagreement between the two parties over the allocation of ministerial portfolios.)

The results of Sri Lanka’s recent parliamentary election mean that President Maithripala Sirisena (of the SLFP) and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (of the UNP) will need to collaborate to implement further reforms.

Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has become the leader of the opposition, a position not held by an ethnic Tamil since 1983. TNA holds 16 seats in the 225-member parliament.

Read the full story at The Diplomat