CED commenced the budget advocacy campaign targeting the candidates of the general election. CED revised the budget proposals (initially drafted/prepared in 2019) considering the prevailing situation of Sri Lanka. CED informed all the members to make appointment with the district leaders of the all the prominent political parties. The new education budget proposals were handed over to the district leaders of each political party by CED member organizations. This activity paved the way establish contacts with the candidates and it lead to lay a foundation for future negotiation with the candidates on advocacy initiatives.
To identify and trace the candidates who are interested in developing education sector CED informed the member organizations to collect all the election manifestos of the parties and candidates. Accordingly, CED was able to collect considerable number of election manifestos. The provincial and district coordinators were informed to review the election manifestos of the parties and candidates of their respective district and identify the candidates who have mentioned about education issues and their plans or suggestion to improve the quality of equation.
The ultimate objective of this effort is to identify the candidates who are keen on developing the education sector. CED expected to target these candidates especially in future budget advocacy activities.