Colombo, Oct. 1 (Daily Mirror) - MP Dr. Kavinda Jayawardena stressed the need for building strong party institutions rather than relying on individual leaders at the European International Round Table held in Brussels. The event was organised by Konrad -Adenauer -Shiftun (KAS) and the European Network of Political Foundations (ENoP). Speaking on the opening panel, Dr. Jayawardena presented a Sri Lankan perspective on the challenges facing political parties in smaller democracies. He noted that Sri Lanka's position at the heart of the Indian Ocean gives the country great strategic importance. He described its rich ethnic and religious diversity as one of its greatest strengths, which must be protected from those who seek to divide communities. He highlighted three areas where parties must become more resilient: "Building strong party institutions rather than relying on individual leaders is a dire need," he said. Countering misleading and emotionally charged content spread through social media and AI, particularly in Sinhala and Tamil, where fact-checking capacity remains limited, ensuring transparency in party financing, not only during elections but throughout the years between them were other aspects he emphasised on. Dr. Jayawardena called on European partners to support stronger party institutions, internal democracy, training and youth leadership. He also asked them to help build fact-checking and digital literacy in local languages, and to engage with countries such as Sri Lanka as genuine democratic partners. Concluding, he said, "Malign influence does not respect borders. If we want resilient democracies in Europe, we must also help build them in the Indian Ocean."
ahtikar Thursday, 01 October 2026 09:31 PM
You can try to start that with your party to set an example. You'll probably find that it's nearly impossible with the thick heads in your own party. But we're looking forward to learn about your efforts. Best of luck!
mp Friday, 02 October 2026 06:19 AM
Is the political party that you belong to a transparent Party?
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