August 24, Colombo (LNW): President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced plans to implement recommendations from a commission led by former Chief Justice Priyasad Depp on digitizing Sri Lanka’s election system.
Speaking at an IT professionals’ meeting themed “Coding the Nation’s Future,” held at Waters Edge Hotel, the President suggested that the new digital election system might be tested in the upcoming local government elections.
He emphasized the necessity of digitizing the electoral process and confirmed the government’s intention to follow the committee’s recommendations.
Highlighting a forward-looking approach, Wickremesinghe spoke about using the local elections as a pilot project before introducing the digital election system on a national scale. The event also featured advanced technology, including a robot named “Pepper,” developed with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The meeting included contributions from various industry leaders, including Mr. Siddhartha Raja from the World Bank, who delivered the keynote address, and representatives from Sri Lanka’s IT sector. The discussions underscored the government’s commitment to modernizing governance through technology.
In his address, President Wickremesinghe outlined a broader vision to transform Sri Lanka into an export-oriented economy driven by technology.
He emphasized the critical role of technology in modernizing key sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and renewable energy. The government’s strategy includes fostering a digital and green economy, supported by infrastructure development, legal reforms, and human resource cultivation.
The President acknowledged the need to reorganize vocational education, establish new technology universities, and support both state and non-government universities.
Plans include the creation of four new universities, including a campus of the Chennai IIT in Galaha, with support from India.
By leveraging regional advantages and adopting successful methods from India, Sri Lanka aims to develop a $15 billion digital economy as part of a broader $85 billion economy, with aspirations to reach $350 billion by mid-century.
Additionally, the Digital Transformation Agency and the Centre for AI will play key roles in driving technological advancement.
However, the government’s primary responsibility is to provide infrastructure, enact laws, and cultivate human resources. We must focus on producing skilled talent, knowing that some will go abroad, but as salaries improve, more will stay he said .
The government also needs to modernize schools to prepare them for the 2030s and 2040s, a process that will take time
. Vocational education is being radically reorganized, with vocational training centers and institutes being consolidated under the Vocational Skills Agency of Sri Lanka.
University Colleges of Technology and Management will be set up to offer associate degrees, expand existing state universities, and promote nongovernment universities in technology.
