Sri Lanka President Dissanayake assures Tamil party of action on Constitution, PC polls next year

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Wednesday (November 19, 2025) told the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) that his government would initiate talks on the promised new Constitution in January next year. He also said elections to the Provincial Councils would be held without further delay, although he did not provide a timeline for the same, members of the party told The Hindu.  

Sri Lanka’s Tamil parties seek India’s continued role in ensuring political solution

It was the first time that the ITAK — a prominent Tamil party with eight MPs in the current Parliament — met President Dissanayake on the pending political solution to Sri Lanka’s national question.  “We told the President that unless this issue is resolved, the country cannot move forward,” ITAK general secretary and former Jaffna legislator M.A. Sumanthiran told the media following the meeting. Acting president of the ITAK, C.V.K. Sivagnanam, and all parliamentarians representing the party in the north and east, were present at the meeting.

Also read: We need to create conditions for real, sustainable change: Sri Lankan PM

Mr. Dissanayake told the ITAK that longstanding issues faced by the people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces can no longer be addressed through “outdated political solutions” and therefore, it was necessary to move towards “a new political framework”, a statement from the President’s office said. “Everyone’s support is essential in that process,” he further emphasised.

The discussion comes after the ITAK wrote to President Dissanayake in September 2025 — when he completed a year in office — seeking a meeting on the long-pending political settlement. Reminding him of his pre-poll pledge to address the aspirations of the Tamil people, the letter said: “no action seems to have been taken”.

The Dissanayake government, which has prioritised economic recovery following the 2022 financial crash, is yet to initiate processes to draft a new Constitution. Further, although the five-year terms of Sri Lanka’s nine Provincial Councils expired between 2017 and 2019, elections are yet to be held, with successive governments postponing the polls. While the Dissanayake administration’s latest Budget has allocated funds to hold the Provincial Council elections, concerns persist over a further delay, owing to differences among political parties over a possible shift to a new electoral system.

Weeks before his election to the country’s top office in September 2024, Mr. Dissanayake told The Hindu that fixing Sri Lanka’s battered economy and wiping out racism were “top priority” for his National People’s Power (NPP) coalition. He promised to take forward previous efforts to draft a new Constitution. “Some of us were part of the process…we don’t have to re-invent the wheel. We will build on that effort,” Mr. Dissanayake then said.

In Wednesday’s meeting, the ITAK representatives referred to several earlier proposals to address the Tamil national question that is at the heart of Sri Lanka’s enduring ethnic conflict, 16 years after the civil war ended.

Batticaloa parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said, “although a year late”, it was very clear from the meeting that President Dissanayake “has a very good understanding of Tamil aspirations, what needs to be done and the various agreements and technical processes” of the past. “We are willing to engage constructively,” Mr. Rasamanickam said, underscoring the need for “a clear timeline and concrete confidence building measures” from the government. “We see that the President’s party [Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna] has shifted from its [historic] position on the economy and on India relations. I am hopeful that the President will be able to bring his party along on the Tamil question, too,” he added.

The ITAK’s talks with Mr. Dissanayake come days after tensions in the eastern Trincomalee district over the placement of an allegedly unauthorised Buddha statue, an issue that was also debated in Parliament. The incident sparked concern amid Tamils’ ongoing battle for their lands that they accuse authorities, including those from archaeology and forest departments, of taking over to “alter the demography” of their areas.

In his parliamentary address on Tuesday, President Dissanayake, referring to the dispute over a Buddha statue in Trincomalee, said “certain opportunistic groups” were attempting to turn recent incidents into “old racist dramas”, even as the underlying legal issues are being addressed in court.

Sri Lanka parliamentary election: How the NPP won over country’s ethnic minorities

“In our meeting, we expressed support to the President’s statement, and agreed that we must work together to prevent racists from stoking tensions. But it can’t be at the cost of our people’s rights, so we need substantive action on the government’s part too,” Mr. Sumanthiran said. While the discussion “had many positives”, the President “did not commit to quick action on the Constitution or Provincial polls,” he added.

Published – November 19, 2025 09:38 pm IST