Colombo, 4 June 2026:
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) expresses deep concern at recent indications by the National People’s Power (NPP) Government that the long-promised abolition of Sri Lanka’s executive presidential system is no longer considered a priority.
In a Daily Mirror report by Kelum Bandara of 1 June 2026, an unnamed “senior government source” is cited as saying “The introduction of a new Constitution including the abolishing of the Executive Presidency is not a priority for the government at the moment though it was an election promise.” The report also quotes Chandana Abayaratne, the Minister for Public Administration, Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister, as stating, “It is one of our electoral promises. Yet, we cannot prioritise it at the moment.”
This position marks a troubling departure from a clear and prominent manifesto commitment, and raises fundamental questions about democratic accountability, constitutional reform, and the integrity of electoral mandates.
The pledge to abolish the executive presidency was not a marginal or incidental promise. It was a central plank of the NPP’s political programme, reflecting a widely shared recognition across Sri Lankan society that the overcentralisation of power in a single office has not only historically contributed to democratic erosion, weakened institutional checks and balances, and facilitated abuses of authority, but that it was a core cause of the national insolvency crisis in 2022. This was encapsulated in the Aragalaya slogan of “system change.” Successive political movements, including the NPP after the Aragalaya, have rightly identified the repeal and replacement of the 1978 Constitution as essential to restoring public trust and strengthening governance.
From the standpoint of democratic theory and practice, the NPP’s current position is entirely untenable. Manifesto commitments serve as a critical mechanism of democratic choice and accountability. Voters rely on these commitments to make informed decisions, and governments derive legitimacy in part from their willingness to implement them. The NPP won both the presidency and an overwhelming parliamentary majority in the 2024 elections on the basis of a manifesto promising abolition of the executive presidency. Reneging on such a fundamental pledge without a compelling explanation undermines the relationship of trust between citizens and the Government.
While CPA recognises that governments operate under real constraints, including economic pressures, these factors cannot be used selectively to sideline commitments of such structural importance. Indeed, international and comparative evidence from functioning democracies demonstrates that governments routinely prioritise and implement core and high-salience promises even in difficult circumstances. The abolition of the executive presidency clearly falls into this category. To relegate it to a non-priority suggests not constraint, but a lack of political will, and a cavalier attitude bordering on contempt for the Sri Lankan electorate.
Moreover, the Government’s position risks perpetuating a pattern that has long weakened Sri Lankan democracy: the instrumental use of constitutional reform as an electoral promise, followed by post-election retreat. This cycle contributes to public disillusionment and reinforces perceptions that manifestos are merely signalling devices rather than genuine programmes for governance. Such an outcome is particularly damaging at a time when rebuilding confidence in political institutions is urgently needed.
It is also important to note that constitutional reform, by its nature, requires sustained political leadership and early prioritisation. Delaying action on the abolition of the executive presidency increases the likelihood that it will be indefinitely postponed, especially as short-term governance challenges crowd the policy agenda. The Government’s current stance therefore not only delays reform but may effectively foreclose it.
CPA therefore urges the NPP Government to:
- Reaffirm its commitment to the abolition of the executive presidency as a matter of priority, ideally in a statement by the President or the Prime Minister to the House;
- Provide a clear and time-bound roadmap for constitutional reform within the life of this Parliament;
- Engage in transparent and inclusive consultations with political parties, civil society, and the public; and
- Demonstrate, through concrete action, its commitment to democratic accountability and institutional reform.
Ultimately, the credibility of democratic governance depends not only on electoral victory, but on the faithful pursuit of the commitments made to secure it. The present moment offers the Government an opportunity to demonstrate that it understands this responsibility. To do otherwise risks further eroding public trust and undermining the very reforms it once championed.