When Sri Lanka's first-ever campaign finance regulation—the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act (REEA)—came into effect during the 2024 Presidential and General Elections, the Election Commission of Sri Lanka (ECSL) faced a significant challenge. They quickly recognised that implementing and enforcing this groundbreaking legislation would require more than one institution working alone. This is where WFD Sri Lanka stepped in to provide crucial support.

A locally-led, strategic approach  

WFD began by conducting an Election Political Economy Analysis (EPEA) to identify effective strategies for intervention. Based on these insights, WFD proposed developing a joint implementation mechanism and has been delivering consistent technical and logistical support to the ECSL and its partners since January 2024 through a series of multi-stakeholder workshops and consultations.

Building a multi-stakeholder enforcement taskforce  

WFD helped the Election Commission to form and operationalise a multi-stakeholder taskforce – including Sri Lanka Police, the Bribery Commission, Human Rights Commission, election monitoring groups, and other officials– to enforce the REEA. The taskforce was formed to establish a formal collaboration that would be mutually beneficial to all institutions, to allow for broad and meaningful implementation of not only the REEA but other laws in relation to financial corruption. The impact was tangible—criminal charges were initiated against candidates who violated regulations. With Local Government Elections scheduled for May 2025, the taskforce has also been reviewing enforcement and compliance gaps from previous elections to strengthen the law further.

Technical expertise and awareness raising

WFD supported the ECSL to conduct a series of meetings with all registered political parties to ensure compliance with the law in early 2024. Another meeting was held with representatives of the media to draw public attention to the new law. With WFD’s support, the ECSL was also able to conduct awareness-raising meetings regionally, covering all nine provinces of Sri Lanka. Specialised training sessions for regional officials from each institution in the joint taskforce enhanced local capacity and ensured consistent understanding and implementation of the REEA throughout the country.  

Empowering civil society monitoring

WFD facilitated the formation of a coalition of civil society election monitoring groups to track candidates' election expenditure throughout Sri Lanka's key 2024 elections. This initiative launched the country's first online monitoring tool of its kind, significantly increasing transparency and public access to information on campaign spending.  

Through these strategic interventions, WFD has successfully shaped regulatory improvements, contributed to positive institutional change, and fostered a more transparent electoral process in Sri Lanka.