Sri Lanka ends parliamentary pensions to prune perks for politicians

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Agence France-PresseFebruary 17, 2026 at 03:16 PM

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Sri Lanka's parliament voted to abolish pensions for all legislators and their widows, effective immediately. The repeal of the 49-year-old Parliamentary Pensions Act is part of the government's effort to reduce perks for politicians. Justice Minister Harsana Nanayakkara cited public perception of parliamentary performance as a reason for the decision. The move comes after the government withdrew housing, vehicles, and bodyguards from former presidents. While the ruling party overwhelmingly supported the repeal, the opposition leader argued that pensions were necessary to prevent corruption by ensuring legislators' financial security after leaving office.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Anura Kumara Dissanayake 60% Sajith Premadasa 60% Harsana Nanayakkara 70% Parliament of Sri Lanka ×380% Sri Lanka ×290%

Keywords

parliamentary pensions 100% legislators 80% sri lanka 70% government perks 70% pensions law 60% corruption 50% social security 50% political reform 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.30

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Sri Lanka

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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parliamentary pensions legislators sri lanka government perks pensions law corruption social security political reform

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