A disconcerting number of Sri Lankans appear to favor dictatorship over democracy "in certain situations” – a phenomenon last observed when the country was plunged into a political crisis under the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government in 2018, according to a recent
survey by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA).
The newly released survey found that while a majority still prefer democratic governance, one in 10 Sri Lankans will back authoritarian rule over a democratic one under certain circumstances, suggesting that support for authoritarian rule soars when frustration towards democratic governance
increases.
The Colombo-based CPA said that the last time Sri Lankans showed this level of support for a dictatorial rule was during the
2018 political upheaval involving an
unconstitutional power grab by then-President Maithripala Sirisena, who unceremoniously sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from his post, triggering a constitutional crisis and widespread protests across the country.
CPA’s other survey results show that public trust in parliament and political parties have sunk to an all-time low, with parliament getting only 22.4 public percent trust and political parties 19 percent trust.
The think tank said that public trust in legislative institutions – cornerstones of a legitimate working democracy – was not only less compared to the military and the court, but also “experienced a slump over the past decade.”
The former British colony has historically had an uneasy relationship with democracy where it
appears to be a functional democracy on paper but realities like a powerful executive branch and unresolved ethnic tensions cast a shadow on its true democratic character.
In 2022, growing frustration over the Sri Lankan government’s failure to curb surging inflation and the
worst economic crisis the country had seen since it attained independence in 1948 prompted
mass demonstrations calling for the ouster of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who eventually resigned. However, months later, the parliament elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as president, signaling the start of an autocratic regime that
immediately cracked down on protesters.
Frustration with corruption, cynicism toward institutions, and a certain sense of “
powerlessness” among the public have been linked to behaviors that seek to undermine democracy. John West, executive director at the Asian Century Institute, said political grievances were “
at the heart” of support for strongmen.