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1 1 (August 30, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveqmz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Sri Lanka's 2024 Presidential Election August 30, 2024 The South Asian island state of Sri Lanka is scheduled to hold a presidential election on September 21, 2024, its first since protests fueled by a severe economic crisis forced former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign and flee the country in July 2022. Some observers say this crisis has sparked widespread disillusionment with Sri Lanka's political establishment and the economic reforms the government undertook to address it, which have increased taxes and the cost of living. Thirty-nine candidates registered to run for president, and polling suggests candidates from outside the country's two dominant political parties are more competitive than they have been in the last two decades. The Biden Administration aims to support Sri Lanka's democratic institutions, encourage its economic development, counter terrorism, and work with the government to promote a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. Congress has shaped U.S. policy toward Sri Lanka and has focused on promoting accountability following the end of the country's civil war in 2009, protecting human rights, strengthening democracy, and responding to the strategic implications of Sri Lanka's growing relationship with China. Congress may consider whether the election is conducted in a safe, transparent, and inclusive manner, and whether a new and potentially more democratic government offers opportunities to expand U.S.-Sri Lanka cooperation. Background Sri Lanka is a mixed-parliamentary system with a unicameral legislature, which Freedom House rated as partly free in 2023. The president is elected to a five-year term and is the head of state, commander in chief of the armed forces, and the head of government. The prime minister is appointed by the president and customarily is the leader of the ruling party in Parliament, and shares some executive responsibilities. From 1983 to 2009 the government fought a 26-year civil war against the Tamil militant separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who fought to establish a separate state in Sri Lanka in light of official discrimination against ethnic Tamils by the majority Sinhalese. After the war ended in 2009, President Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005-2015) kept many repressive emergency and anti-terrorism laws in place, repressed the media and political opponents, manipulated elections, and silenced civil society. He also expanded funding for the military and put family members in positions of control over major sectors of the economy. In Sri Lanka's last presidential election, Mahinda's brother-and defense minister- Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected on a security-focused platform. The Rajapaksas' Sri Lanka Podujana Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12415 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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