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Prolonged Auditor General vacancy undermines democratic values: March 12 Movement

Published

2 months ago

2026/01/5

The March 12 Movement yesterday warned that the continued failure to appoint a permanent Auditor General is undermining Sri Lanka’s constitutional framework, democratic governance, and the independence of the country’s public audit system.

In a statement, the movement noted that public financial auditing is a key mechanism through which the sovereignty of the people is exercised, with Sri Lanka’s auditing tradition dating back to the late 17th century. Under Article 154 of the Constitution, the Auditor General is vested with authority to audit public sector accounts, making the office central to financial discipline and accountability, it said.

Full text of the statement: Public financial auditing is one of the central institutional practices through which the sovereignty of the people of Sri Lanka can be most effectively utilised. The Sri Lankan experience in this field dates back to the fourth quarter of the 17th century. The Auditor General is the person vested with the necessary authority to audit the accounts of the public sector, today. This authority is determined by Article 154 of the Second Constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, public financial audit and financial discipline constitute one of the central factors that determine the progress of every sector in the country. Therefore, an appropriate framework to streamline the audit process was created by the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which came into force on 15 May 2015. The “Audit Service Commission” is the central institution in the process that was reconstructed. In terms of Article 153A (1) of the Second Constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka, the Auditor General is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Audit Commission as well. Consequently, the said Commission, too, has been deprived of a Chairman by now. Therefore, the delay in filling the vacancy of the Auditor General will have a serious impact on the independence of the entire audit service.

Chulantha Wickramaratne, former Auditor General of the country, retired on April 8th of 2025 and, since then, the ‘National Audit Office’ has been functioning without a specifically appointed Auditor General. The most worrying concern in the chain of events leading to this situation is the disagreement that has arisen between the Executive President and the Constituent Council. The appointment of the Auditor General is a shared authority and responsibility of both the Executive President and the Constituent Council. The President nominates a suitable person for the post of Auditor General but it requires the majority approval of the Constituent Council. However, on four occasions to date, only an acting head has been nominated instead of a permanent Auditor General. The nomination that was made in this way on the last occasion also did not receive the consent of five members of the Constituent Council, which is the minimum majority required to validate the appointment. In this backdrop, the March 12 Movement has also drawn its attention to various criticisms and arguments that have emerged in society in this connection. One such argument is that the National People’s Power Government is apparently marking time until the end of the official term of the current Constituent Council waiting for the new Constituent Council to be elected and commenced its work.

The uncertain background that has emerged under this situation, will no longer auger well for the protection of the spirit or values of a democratic government except suppressing the aspirations of citizens. Therefore, the March 12 Movement makes the following demands to the relevant responsible parties:

01, The Executive President and the Constituent Council should take immediate steps to fill the vacancy of the post of Auditor General, who is the primary auditor of the state institutions of the Republic of Sri Lanka. It is a matter of great regret that the relevant authorities do not seem to understand or ignore the intense need for an Auditor General, particularly at a crucial time when the post-Ditwah cyclone recovery process is underway.

02. The spirit of modern governance involves institutions that are close to each other not acting as antagonists on crucial issues, but rather exercising their power as equal mechanisms in a single system for the benefit of the state through a proper communication system. Therefore, at this critical juncture, the Executive President and the Constituent Council should decide to take an appropriate decision, without delay, through proper discussion. It is an inalienable responsibility and accountability of both institutions.

03. Sri Lanka signed the Lima Declaration adopted by the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) in 1977. Therefore, we have a strong international commitment regarding the appointment of the Auditor General. Moreover, the Government of Sri Lanka should pay special attention to the Mexico Declaration of 2007, which Sri Lanka has signed and ratified, as well as the criteria presented by the United Nations in 2009 in relation to that Declaration. These declarations have emphasised the legal practice related to public financial management and the institutional form of it.

04. The immediate harm that can be caused by the political authority experimenting with appointing an acting person instead of a permanent Auditor General to fill the vacant position and not perceiving the appointment with prudence is that the public will tend to doubt the validity of this prestigious institution while challenging its independence. The March 12 Movement has focused its attention on the partial inactivation of this foremost institution that should make recommendations on the audit of the entirety of the state apparatus with continuous efficiency and through accurate methods is yet another beginning of the politicization of state institutions that had engulfed the entire country for some time.

05. The adverse atmosphere developed in this process will certainly tend to enervate and disappoint the civil society. We wish to remind the pledge the National People’s Power Government made repeatedly during the pre-election period that its one and only policy will be to handle public finances through more standardised and advanced governance practices. Therefore, the March 12 Movement earnestly requests the leaders and cadres of the National People’s Power Government to make it their unconditional political commitment to continue to safeguard the expectations of the voters who have placed their trust in them.

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’Reimagining International Relations from a Global South Perspective’ offers a timely and rigorous contribution, providing key insights into policy, diplomacy, and global governance – PM

Published

12 hours ago

2026/02/26

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya made while participating in the latest publication of the Bandaranaike Center for International Studies (BCIS) titled ‘Reimagining International Relations from a Global South’ held on the 24 February 2026 at the BCIS Auditorium said that the volume offers a timely and rigorous contribution, providing key insights into policy, diplomcy and global governance.

Authored by Emeritus Professor Gamini Keerawella, former Senior Professor of History at the University of Peradeniya and a member of the BCIS Council of Management and Academic Affairs Board, the book ’Reimagining International Relations from a Global South Perspective’ offers a compelling re-examination of International Relations through a distinctly Global South perspective.

Congratulating on the publication, the Prime Minister stated that the publication represents a timely and important intervention in understanding how the Global South’s international relations and international policy has evolved and traces the many different pathways. She further noted that this volume invites for re-imagine international relations as a genuinely plural and it doesn’t necessarily only go for the discipline of international relations, that is something that applies to all disciplines.

The occasion was attended by the former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Chairperson of BCIS, Deputy Minister of Mass Media Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, members of the diplomatic community, representatives of the Bandaranaike National Memorial Foundation Board of Management, members of the BCIS governing bodies, and invited scholars and practitioners.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

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CID arrests former top military intelligence officer under PTA

Published

13 hours ago

2026/02/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Suresh Sallay

Suresh Sallay, who played a significant role in the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) during the war, has been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

DIG (Legal Division) Jaliya Senaratne yesterday told a hastily called media briefing that Sallay had been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. Senaratne said that as the ex-officer had been apprehended in terms of the PTA, he could be held for 72 hours for questioning.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested him at Peliyagoda yesterday morning. At the time of the suicide bombings, Sallay had been at the National Defence College (NDC) of India.

Sallay had been under investigation over declaration made by one Azad Maulana, in an interview with British television network Channel 4, that Sallay met the Easter Sunday bombers, including their leader Zahran Hashim, in February 2018. Responding to Maulana’s allegation, Sallay told the UK network that he had been assigned to the Sri Lankan mission, in Malaysia, during the 2016-2018 period and never left the country in 2018.

According to Sallay, he had been out of Malaysia only once, during the entire 2016-2018 period, and that was in 2017.

Maulana also accused him of meeting Pilleyan who, at that time, was held at Prison.

Pilleyan, too, was arrested in connection with the same investigation.

Following the change of government in November 2019, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Sallay head of the State Intelligence Services (SIS), a post previously held by Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena accused of the worst post-war intelligence failure.

Sallay retired in October 2024 following Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s victory in the presidential election. (SF)

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Corruption in coal procurement: CP demands action against all responsible

Published

13 hours ago

2026/02/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, blamed for causing heavy losses to the state coffers by procuring substandard coal for the Norochcholai power plant, stands next to Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Tuesday (24) at a power sector awards ceremony at the BMICH.(pic courtesy Energy Ministry)

The Communist Party yesterday (25) said that all individuals, regardless of political affiliation or status, responsible for the coal procurement scandal, should be held accountable, if found guilty of wrongdoing. The Opposition has directly pointed fingers at Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody in this regard. The following is the text of the statement issued by the CP:

“The Communist Party of Sri Lanka wishes to add its voice to the growing public outcry in response to the unfolding revelations surrounding the coal procurement scandal. These revelations have, once again, exposed the deep‑rooted corruption embedded within the neoliberal governance framework that has dominated the country’s economic management for decades.

The CPSL condemns, in the strongest terms, the irregularities and manipulations that have allegedly taken place in the awarding of coal supply contracts. These actions represent not mere administrative lapses but a systematic betrayal of the public trust, carried out at the expense of the national economy, and the working people, who ultimately bear the burden of such misconduct.

The Party emphasises the following:

* Corruption, in strategic sectors such as energy, threatens national sovereignty directly, as it compromises the stability of essential services and places the country at the mercy of private profiteers.

* The scandal reflects the failure of successive governments to establish transparent, accountable, and socially responsible procurement systems, instead allowing political patronage networks and corporate interests to dominate public resources, which the National People’s Power government swore to eradicate

* The CPSL calls for a full, independent, and publicly accessible investigation, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of political affiliation or status, are held accountable, if found guilty of wrongdoing.

* The CPSL urges the government to immediately review procurement mechanisms across all state institutions, ensuring that national resources are managed in the interest of the people rather than of private intermediaries.

The Communist Party of Sri Lanka stands firmly with the working class and the broad masses in demanding justice and transparency. The coal procurement scandal must not be allowed to fade into yet another episode of unpunished corruption. It must become a turning point toward building a state apparatus that serves the people, not the profiteers.”