2024 Sri Lankan Presidential Elections

What do the Candidates Say?

A Comparison of the Presidential Manifestos of the 4 Front-Running Candidates

🤖 Generated by ChatGPT 4o by automatically parsing the Manifesto Documents.

What are the most important theses common to all four manifestos?

The manifestos of all four candidates for the Sri Lankan presidential election contain several common themes and priorities.

Here’s a summary of the most important points that are common across all four documents:

1. Economic Recovery and Growth

• Focus on economic recovery: All candidates emphasize the need for significant economic reform and recovery, addressing the ongoing financial crisis, debt restructuring, and improving fiscal management.
• FDI and trade: They emphasize attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), expanding exports, and connecting Sri Lanka to global value chains as essential for economic recovery.
• Agriculture and food security: Improving agricultural productivity, food security, and self-sufficiency is a key point, with most manifestos mentioning the need for modernization of the sector.

2. Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation

• Poverty reduction: All manifestos address the need to alleviate poverty through social protection programs, targeted financial aid, and support for low-income families.
• Healthcare improvements: Enhancing public healthcare services, ensuring accessibility, and improving the quality of medical services are central in all manifestos.
• Housing programs: Each candidate promises to address housing issues, particularly focusing on low-income and rural housing development projects.

3. Education and Human Capital Development

• Education reforms: Improving access to quality education, revamping the system, and preparing students for future job markets through skill development and vocational training is a common priority.
• Technology and digitalization in education: Many candidates emphasize integrating technology in schools and universities to modernize the education system.

4. Good Governance and Anti-Corruption

• Fight against corruption: There is a strong emphasis on eradicating corruption and improving transparency, accountability, and governance across all sectors.
• Strengthening institutions: Reforms to make public institutions more efficient, transparent, and free from corruption are highlighted.

5. Environmental Sustainability

• Focus on sustainability: All manifestos mention policies aimed at combating climate change, promoting green energy, and ensuring environmental sustainability.
• Renewable energy: Developing renewable energy sources, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and promoting eco-friendly industries are part of the green energy vision for the country.

6. Employment Creation and Support for MSMEs

• Job creation: Each manifesto discusses the importance of creating new jobs, particularly for youth and graduates, as part of the strategy to reduce unemployment and drive economic growth.
• Support for small businesses: There is a shared focus on supporting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with financial schemes, access to markets, and technical assistance.

7. Improving Public Infrastructure

• Transport and public services: Most manifestos promise to invest in improving public infrastructure, including transportation systems (roads, railways, ports) and digitalizing public services for more efficiency.
• Energy and utilities: Plans to stabilize electricity supply, reduce utility costs, and increase energy efficiency feature prominently in all manifestos.

8. National Security and Law Enforcement

• Strengthening national security: All manifestos highlight the importance of maintaining internal security, fighting terrorism, and addressing law enforcement inefficiencies to ensure a peaceful and stable society.
• Justice and rule of law: The importance of upholding justice and legal reforms, especially in tackling crime and ensuring human rights, is common across all manifestos.

These themes show a shared focus on addressing the critical challenges faced by Sri Lanka in terms of economic recovery, social justice, governance, and sustainable development.

What are the unique themes in each manifesto?

Here’s a list of unique promises, themes, or ideas that are found in each candidate’s manifesto but not in the others:

Sajith Premadasa (Samagi Jana Balawegaya)

• “Social Market Economy”: A unique vision combining free markets with social justice, focusing on creating an inclusive, equitable economy through targeted social safety nets and empowering the marginalized, with a distinctive focus on Gross National Happiness (GNH).
• Shakthi Rice Miller Network: The plan to revive the “Shakthi Rice Miller” cooperative program to stabilize rice prices and benefit both farmers and consumers, a specific initiative not found in other manifestos.
• Public Sector Digitalization via “Temasek Model”: Premadasa proposes reforming state-owned enterprises (SOEs) through a Singapore-style “Temasek model” where SOEs would be managed under a centralized holding company.
• Nationwide “One Million Start-Ups” Program: A bold plan to create one million start-ups through support for young entrepreneurs, loans, mentorship, and a specialized ecosystem.
• Inclusive Digital Health Infrastructure (“Suwa Seriya” Model): Leveraging the 1990 Suwa Seriya ambulance service success and using digital health infrastructure to modernize healthcare, a particular emphasis on expanding the model.
• Gender Equality Focus: A legal commitment to ensuring a minimum of 25% female representation in all political institutions, alongside provisions for day-care centers and maternity leave covered by the state.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake (National People’s Power)

• Production-Based Economy (Renaissance): A strong emphasis on a production-based economy, focusing on self-reliance and using Sri Lanka’s natural resources to create a sustainable economy. This concept includes minerals, agriculture, and creative industries.
• “We for the Renaissance (V4R)”: A digital platform dedicated to young people where they can submit ideas and innovations directly to the government, a highly interactive, tech-driven approach to governance.
• Creation of a “People’s Government”: The manifesto uniquely promises to replace the elite ruling class with “ordinary citizens” who would come through merit-based appointments, including plans to dismantle family-based political dynasties.
• Holistic Educational Reform: A deep reform of the educational system, aiming to mainstream vocational education as a parallel to academic education, alongside establishing community education centers in every divisional secretariat.
• Cultural Renaissance and Promotion of Compassion: A distinctive focus on fostering a compassionate, intellectual society through arts, culture, and philosophy, as well as addressing the country’s moral and ethical erosion.
• Women’s Movement (“Gahenu Api Eka Mitata”): One of the strongest feminist approaches, promising to support women’s rights and create systems for gender equality, including a law to ensure 50% female representation in decision-making bodies.
• Zero-Waste, Circular Economy: The manifesto’s deep commitment to an eco-friendly economy includes a circular economy based on zero-waste principles and a shift away from anthropocentric environmental practices.
• Focus on Intellectual Property Laws and Cultural Heritage: A significant promise to reform intellectual property laws to protect Sri Lanka’s artistic and cultural works while promoting international exchanges in arts and cinema.

Ranil Wickremesinghe (Independent)

• Theravada Trade Economy: A unique economic model based on the ancient Theravada market economy, drawing inspiration from the Rajarata Kingdom’s trade history and focusing on turning Sri Lanka into a modern trade hub.
• Rebuilding national image and reputation: A specific focus on recovering Sri Lanka’s international image and reputation, especially after the economic collapse, through international partnerships and adherence to IMF agreements.
• Creating a ‘Peoples’ Sector’: Focus on the establishment of a “Peoples’ Sector” where all citizens have a stake in the economy, with plans for a National Wealth Fund and restructuring the cooperative movement to align with Scandinavian models.
• Focus on the Granary of the East concept: Historical references to ancient Sri Lanka’s agricultural strength, aiming to revive the country as a regional center for grain distribution.
• Sustainable Ocean Economy: Detailed plans to maximize the underutilized maritime resources, especially by modernizing the fishing industry and fishery harbors across the island.
• Climate Change Leadership: Leading global initiatives like the Climate Justice Forum and Climate Prosperity Plan and establishing an International Climate Change University.

Namal Rajapakse (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna)

• “Namal Vision”: A strong emphasis on carrying forward the Rajapaksa family legacy, specifically aligning the future development of Sri Lanka with Mahinda Rajapaksa’s achievements, especially in post-war reconstruction.
• State-led Public Sector Optimization: Focus on modernizing and optimizing the public sector through e-governance, high-performance standards, and avoiding privatization of state assets, unlike other candidates.
• Protecting and Nurturing the Buddha Sasana: A heavy focus on protecting Buddhism and its historical heritage, with plans to enrich Buddhist temples and launch welfare programs for monks, such as a medical insurance scheme for elderly monks.
• Focus on High-Precision Manufacturing: Sri Lankan workers are seen as uniquely skilled in high-precision manufacturing, and this manifesto focuses on promoting Sri Lanka as a global hub for manufacturing technological products.
• Forensic Audit of Loans: A specific proposal to conduct forensic audits on all foreign loans, infrastructure projects, and international sovereign bonds to ensure transparency and accountability.
• Rural-to-Urban Transformation with Mega Projects: A specific focus on turning the coastal area from Kalutara to Negombo into a megapolis and developing Galle, Kandy, and Trincomalee into modern cities with high-end infrastructure.

The Original Manifestos

• Sajith Premadasa (Samagi Jana Balawegaya)
• Anura Kumara Dissanayake (National People’s Power)
• Ranil Wickremesinghe (Independent)
• Namal Rajapakse (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna)

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Code

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GitHub - nuuuwan/manifestos_prespollsl2024