Improved Election Management Program (IEMP) USAID Associate Cooperative Agreement No
CEPPS Quarterly Report: January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 SRI LANKA: Improved Election Management Program (IEMP) USAID Associate Cooperative Agreement No. AID-383-LA-15-00001 under the Leader Cooperative Agreement No. DFD-A-00-08-00350-00 Project Dates: September 29, 2015 – September 30, 2020 I. PROGRAM OVERVIEW Problem Statement After decades of civil war and widespread corruption, Sri Lankans elected a National Unity Government in 2015, which – committed itself to an ambitious reform agenda that included promises of good governance, economic development and reconciliation. However, nearly five years later, the government faced challenges delivering on its promises as well as a constitutional crisis with the then-president Maithripala Sirisena in late 2018. Public discontent with the National Unity Government factored into the election of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the November 2019 presidential election. Exacerbating an already challenging political situation, on April 21, 2019, a series of coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka hit places of worship and high-end hotels, killing 253 people and injuring hundreds more. In the immediate aftermath of the bombings, mobs retaliated against the Muslim community, burning dozens of Muslim-owned shops, homes and mosques and killing at least two people. Within this context, polarizing campaign rhetoric that perpetuates hate speech and disinformation, especially targeting Muslims, proved an effective tactic for voter mobilization in the presidential election. Taken together, the interconnected issues of leadership challenges, rising communal divisions, high-profile arrests and detentions, and lack of public trust in the government injected high levels of uncertainty and potential for political turmoil during the presidential election, and will continue to do so ahead of the parliamentary election period.
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