Participation of professional women in politics

A National List Member of Parliament is a Member of Parliament who is nominated by his/her political party or independent group, to the Parliament unlike other MPs who need to contest in elections. The purpose of the national list is to bring experts, academics and professionals into parliament, as their contribution to parliamentary discussions is essential.

Each party must nominate 29 MPs for their National List before every General Elections. Alongside the 196 MPs elected into parliament, 29 National List MPs are also appointed, bringing the total number of MPs to 225.

According to the labour force survey of the Department of Census and Statistics, out of all professionals in Sri Lanka 60% are women, and has been consistently so since 2008 when the Labour Force Survey started assessing professionals by gender. Unfortunately, despite the rhetoric about the importance of increasing female participation of women in parliament, the main political parties have failed to recognise the role professional women can play in shaping policies in the country. 

The 2010-2015 parliament had only three female MPs from the National List, (i.e. 10% of the total National List members in parliament). The nominations for the National List in the 2015 General Election from leading parties is even more disappointing. The UPFA does not have a single woman in their National List; the UNP and JVP have nominated two women. (Source: Verité Research)