Run Rate of Passing Laws in Parliament: MS led at 6 months, AKD leads at 18.
There have been two major instances in the last 11 years when Sri Lankan voters appeared to reject incumbency, in favour of radical reform, on a platform of anti-corruption and better governance - The first was the election of President Maithripala Sirisena (MS) on 8 January 2015. The second was the election of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) on 21 September 2024.
This InfoBrief compares legislative activity during the first 18 months of these two presidencies, using the number of bills1 gazetted, tabled, and enacted into law. It finds a clear difference in the pattern of legislative activity across the two periods. At the six-month mark, the MS presidency had recorded more bills gazetted and more laws enacted. By the 18-month mark, however, the AKD presidency had nearly matched the MS presidency in the number of bills gazetted and had overtaken it in the number of laws enacted.
Comparing legislative activity at 6 months and 18 months1
During this approximately 18-month period, Parliament met for 126 and 136 days respectively for the MS and AKD presidencies. During both comparable periods, Parliament passed an interim budget and a full-year budget.
At the 6-month mark, the MS presidency led in legislative activity2. The MS presidency had gazetted3 three times the number of bills in comparison to the AKD period, and had twice as many passed. However, at the 9-month mark the AKD presidency overtook in terms of bills that were passed.
By the 18-month mark the score had changed. The AKD presidency had passed 12 more bills than the MS presidency.
However, the MS presidency always led in terms of bills gazetted. At 18 months it had gazetted 4 more bills than the AKD presidency.
Table 1: Legislative record of Parliament, 6 months in
|
|
MS |
AKD |
|
Number of days Parliament met |
41 days |
46 days |
|
Number of bills gazetted2 |
17 |
7 |
|
o/w Number of bills tabled |
16 |
5 |
|
o/w Number of laws passed |
6 |
3 |
Table 2: Legislative record of Parliament, 18 months in
|
|
MS |
AKD |
|
Number of days Parliament met |
126 days |
136 days |
|
Number of bills gazetted |
54 |
50 |
|
o/w Number of bills tabled |
48 |
43 |
|
o/w Number of laws passed |
20 |
32 |
This shows that at the 18-month mark despite MS presidency still recording a slightly higher number of bills gazetted, the AKD presidency converted a much larger share of its gazetted bills into law.
Footnotes:
1. The period considered for the MS presidency is 20 January 2015 to 8 July 2016, while for the AKD presidency it is 21 November 2024 to 5 March 2026.
2. The number of bills and acts reported in this article are based the information published in the official website of the Sri Lanka Parliament and Department of Government Printers as of 5 March 2026.
3. In the count of bills gazetted, we exclude incorporation bills, as these are only used to grant legal status to organizations, associations, or institutions. Of the remaining legislation relating to public matters, we count only those that were passed after being gazetted following the presidential elections, and not those gazetted prior to it.
Author Credits:
1. Mohamed Aaseem - Research Analyst
2. Tasha Goonewardene - Research Analyst
