The elections of Maithripala Sirisena in 2015 and Anura Kumara Dissanayake in 2024, both centered on anti-corruption and good governance platforms, are regarded as two key moments when the public mandate supported radical political reforms in Sri Lanka Latest News.
A recent data report by Verité Research highlights a notable difference in the legislative performance of the two administrations during the first 18 months of their respective presidential terms.
According to official parliamentary data, during the first six months of each term, the Maithripala Sirisena administration led in legislative activity. In that period, the MS government gazetted 17 draft bills and enacted 6 of them into law, while the AKD administration gazetted only 7 bills, of which 3 became laws.
However, from the ninth month onwards, the government led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake significantly accelerated its legislative output, reversing the earlier trend. By the end of the 18-month period (March 2026), the total number of laws passed under the AKD administration stood at 32, which is 12 more than the 20 laws passed during the first 18 months of Maithripala Sirisena’s tenure.
While the Sirisena administration recorded the highest number of gazetted bills (54) within its first 18 months, the Dissanayake administration has achieved the highest conversion rate, with 50 gazetted bills being turned into laws.
It is also noted that during both periods, Parliament sat for 126 days under the Sirisena administration and 136 days under the Dissanayake administration. Additionally, both governments presented an interim budget as well as a full-year budget to Parliament.
