As part of the EU-funded Active Citizens for Elections and Democracy (ACED) project, an online inter country exchange learning meeting was held to share findings from recent research on factors influencing voter preference in elections and to explore strategies with Maldivian partners. The meeting was structured around three key components: the presentation of research findings, reflections on the Sri Lankan context and a joint strategy discussion in light of similar challenges in the Maldives particularly vote buying.

The study, which covered all 25 districts of Sri Lanka, examined shifts in political attitudes and public expectations of democracy. (The full survey is available at https://peace-srilanka.org/images/publications/Factors%20Guiding%20Voter%20Preferance%20in%20Sri%20Lanka%20-%20ACED%202024.pdf)

Findings were presented by Ms. Chrishni de Silva of the Department of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Colombo. She highlighted how youth engagement increased after the Aragalaya movement and presented insights on voter priorities, political literacy and decision making, public dissatisfaction with traditional politics and the demand for a third political force, the role of media, the decline of patronage politics and variations in political interest across age groups and gender.

From the Maldives, Dunya Maumoon, Chair of the Advisory Board of Women & Democracy (W&D) and the country’s first female Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ms. Safaath Ahamed, Founder and President of W&D, joined the discussions alongside several Maldivian participants. They observed that their country faces comparable challenges including corruption, low youth participation and underrepresentation of women in politics. During question time Maldivian participants raised questions on strategies to strengthen youth involvement. In response, Ms. de Silva drew on Sri Lanka’s experience where young people mobilised in reaction to political and economic crises stemming from instability and governance failures.

The meeting concluded with reflections from Maldivian partners and their constituencies who stressed the importance of advancing accountability and transparency mechanisms within the Maldives. They noted that Sri Lanka’s experiences illustrate how changing political attitudes, particularly among youth, can drive reform agendas and democratic progress. They also expressed interest in conducting a similar survey in the Maldives and requested NPC’s assistance to do so. The session closed with a shared commitment to continue such meaningful engagements in the future.