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The Pathfinder Foundation organized an intellectual dialog focusing next Elections “Dialogue with the Diplomatic Corps” in Colombo recently. The Dialog with the participation of members of the diplomatic community, based in Sri Lanka. In this conference, participants discussed “Timing of the Next Local Government/Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka and their Implications on the Society and Economy” which was selected considering its contemporary importance in the current political discourse.
The Lead Presenter was Prof. Rohan Samarajiva, who is the Founding Chairperson of LIRNasia, a Sri Lankan think tank active across South and Southeast Asia, whilst Prof. Sirimal Abeyaratne, former head of the Department of Economics at the University of Colombo, served as the Discussant.
Prof. Samarajiva, in his presentation, provided insights into the historical development of electoral processes in Sri Lanka and their implications on society, drawing parallels with the current context. How an economic crisis changes the political order was highlighted with examples from Sri Lanka’s recent past while referring to how crises of comparable magnitude reconfigured the political landscapes in Greece and Spain, to cite a few examples. Prof. Samarajiva explained the recent sequencing of elections in Sri Lanka with impending scenarios and likely outcomes.
The Discussant, Prof. Sirimal Abeyaratne, contributed information on how the political landscape in the country adversely affected the economy over the years, leading to an unprecedented economic crisis last year. Implications of change in government policies, diluted reforms resulting in efficient resource allocation and ehno-centric political groupings/coalitions were some factors he touched upon in his presentation. Following the presentations, both speakers responded to questions posed by the participants, which shed new light on the views of the international community on local political processes.
Besides creating an opportunity to gain expert insights and discuss an important topic, the dialogue also served as a networking opportunity among Colombo based diplomats.
The inaugural Dialogue with Diplomats was held in September 2022 on the subject of “State Owned Enterprises”. The Pathfinder Foundation plans to continue this dialogue with a focus on different topics of interest to the diplomatic community regularly.
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