Tuesday 5th May, 2026
The JVP-NPP government turned its recent May Day rallies into a propaganda counteroffensive against the Opposition, which has effectively targeted its good governance credentials. The ruling party leaders, including President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, went ballistic, condemning their rivals as utterly corrupt politicians. Claiming that 2026 would be remembered as the year when the corrupt and thieves were sent to jail, President Dissanayake said 15 high-profile cases would come up in the current month itself.
The Executive President can have himself briefed on cases to be filed and the progress therein, but it is unbecoming of him or her to leverage privileged access to such information for political expediency. Lashing out at President Dissanayake for having told his supporters, at a public rally, that they will be able to hail a judgement to be delivered in a corruption case later this month, the Joint Opposition yesterday said at a media briefing that by saying so, the President had undermined the integrity of the judiciary. Former Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Prof. G. L. Peiris told the media yesterday that by claiming to have prior knowledge of the judgement to be delivered on 25 May, the President had assailed the very foundation of the Constitution. One cannot but agree with Prof. Peiris that in the civilised world, judicial decisions are not meant to entertain a third party, and the President’s statement at issue is tantamount to exerting political pressure on the judiciary. Prof. Peiris said the Opposition would make representations to the Chief Justice on the matter. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka must also take it up.
The political undertone of the aforementioned presidential declaration is disturbing, for it betrays a vested interest in the cases the President has referred to, and it is therefore only natural that he is seen to be ramping up pressure on the judiciary to be mindful of the government’s desire to have its political opponents incarcerated for corruption somehow or other. When he insists that the government politicians are not corrupt, and corruption cases would come up against their Opposition counterparts, the subtext of his statement is that he believes that the Opposition members concerned deserve punishment and expects them to be jailed. This can be considered a thinly veiled message intended to influence the judiciary.
The JVP/NPP came to power partly resorting to a false dichotomy. It divided politicians into two broad categories––clean individuals who supported it and others it portrayed as deserving imprisonment for corruption. One may argue that the government’s vested interest in prosecuting its political opponents, and its public declarations that they must be jailed, hang over the judiciary like the sword of Damocles.
The presidential declarations with the potential to erode public trust in the judiciary should be viewed against the backdrop of a controversial claim made by a Minister that the JVP-NPP government would devolve judicial powers to some committees to be set up at the village level. Is the JVP/NPP working according to a plan to undermine the judiciary and reduce it to a mere appendage of the government?
The JVP was critical of the Executive Presidency, while out of power, and even launched aggressive campaigns, seeking its abolition. The JVP/NPP promised to introduce a new Constitution, inter alia, “abolishing the executive presidency and appointing a president without executive powers by the Parliament” (A Thriving Nation: A Beautiful Life, NPP Election Manifesto, p. 109). Today, the JVP/NPP is silent on this solemn pledge which enabled it to garner favour with the public to win elections, and President Dissanayake is accused of undermining the cherished constitutional doctrine of the separation of powers. Worse, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva has declared that the incumbent government will be in power indefinitely. Senior public administrators have protested against a government move to plant JVP cadres in the District and Divisional Secretariats on the pretext of implementing the Clean Sri Lanka programme. One can only hope that the unfolding events are not ominous signs of an Orwellian nightmare.