Sri Lanka in 1994: A Mandate for Peace

Abstract

The year 1994 marked the end of the longest period of rule by one party in post-independence Sri Lanka-17 years by the United National Party (UNP). In the parliamentary and presidential elections held in August and November, respectively, the opposition People's Alliance (PA) led by Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party defeated the UNP, obtaining a mandate to negotiate a political solution to the 11-year old civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The parliamentary elections were relatively peaceful and the change of power orderly. The presidential election and the peace process, however, suffered a major blow when the UNP's candidate, Gamini Dissanayake, was assassinated by a suicide bomber suspected to be a black tiger (LTTE) shortly before the elections. Peace negotiations were suspended, and the UNP resumed its campaign with Dissanayake's widow as its candidate and opposition to negotiations as its central theme. Following Kumaratunga's decisive victory (62% of the total vote), which was interpreted as a clear mandate for negotiations, the peace process resumed. The change of power did not signify a fundamental change in the openeconomy policies initiated by the UNP in 1977. Before and after the elections, the PA reiterated its commitment to building a strong national economy within a market framework and to a partnership with the private sector. It promised to continue infrastructure development and privatization processes, and end the drain of war expenditures. The new administration launched major inquiries into human rights abuses, deaths of political and