- President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his intention to implement recommendations from the commission report led by former Chief Justice Priyasad Depp on digitizing Sri Lanka’s election system. President Wickremesinghe’s comments highlight a forward-looking approach to enhancing Sri Lanka’s electoral process through digital technology, reflecting the government’s commitment to modernizing key systems and improving efficiency in governance.
- Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has undertaken a humanitarian mission to liberate the entire nation from this misery, stated Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. He mentioned that while the current government has considered state employees a burden on the country until now, they have suddenly deemed them important due to opportunism, attempting to deceive state employees with political gimmicks to retain power.
- Minister Mahinda Amaraweera saya SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa and NPP Leader Anura Dissanayake are making many promises to voters to win the Presidential Election. But most of their promises are against IMF agreements. Even President Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot break those agreements. If he breaks those agreements, the IMF will stop supporting our country. Even the President is not capable of rebuilding it.
- The Parliament has informed the Election Commission that a vacancy has been created in the House following the resignation of Thalatha Athukorala as a Member of Parliament. This has been informed in terms of the Section 64(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 1 of 1981, the Parliamentary Communications Department said.
- The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has issued a warning to the public regarding a surge in fraudulent activities involving individuals impersonating tax officials. These scams have been reported in various regions, including Colombo, Panadura, Negombo, Wennappuwa, and Minuwangoda, it said in a statement.
- For the first time in Sri Lanka, the government has introduced an online platform (www.pravesha.lk) for railway passengers to purchase tickets. This new system now allows passengers traveling even short distances to buy train tickets using their mobile phones.
- The Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Highways, Eng. Ranjith Rubasinghe, clarified that reports claiming a decision has been made to cancel all un-updated driving licenses are entirely false and that no such decision has been taken.
- Australia’s United Petroleum, the latest foreign firm to enter the fuel retail market, was officially launched in Sri Lanka. Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara said that accordingly, they will commence retail fuel operations in September 2024 with 150 dealer-owned and operated fuel stations.
- Mahinda Deshapriya, Chairman of the National Delimitation Committee for Local Government institutions, hailed the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the postponement of 2023 Local Government Elections as a victory for the people.
- Sri Lanka will host New Zealand for a two-match Test series during next month’s presidential election, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced today. The first Test will begin on September 18 at Galle, but there will be a rest day on September 21 when the voting is set to take place, the board said.
