The highly anticipated public debate for the 2024 Presidential Election, organized by the ‘March 12 Movement,’ kicked off today, but with an unexpected twist—only one of the four confirmed candidates showed up. Presidential candidate Dilith Jayaweera, representing the ‘Sarvajana Balaya’ movement, was the sole participant in what was supposed to be a multi-candidate debate.
The Executive Director of the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), Rohana Hettige, confirmed that candidates Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Namal Rajapaksa of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), and Tamil common candidate P. Ariyanethiran had all initially committed to participating in the debate’s first phase. However, they were absent when the event commenced.
Jayaweera expressed disappointment over the no-shows. “I arrived on time and was looking forward to a productive dialogue with my fellow candidates. As a political movement, we believe in honesty and transparency. We must be open to criticism of our policies, especially when we propose to govern an entire country,” he stated, criticizing the reluctance of others to engage in the discussion.
Notably, presidential candidates Ranil Wickramasinghe and Anura Kumara Dissanayake had not confirmed their participation in the debate, further reducing the expected lineup.
The debate series will continue tomorrow with the participation of several other candidates, but today’s turnout has raised questions about the willingness of key candidates to engage in open, public discourse ahead of the election.
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