He added that the number of women and youth who are actively engaged in active politics has dwindled in the recent past. Election for the youth parliament will be held this saturday (07) and CaFFE has been invited to monitor the election and CaFFE has accepted to monitor the election and train those who are elected to the parliament.

"Sri Lanka has a long tradition of holding democratic elections. We were one of the first Asian nations to exercise the universal franchise. However other nations in the region have passed us by. We can only overcome this by increasing political participation of youth," he said.

Tennakoon also said that the youth parliament can be used to enhance female political participation. "There are only a few women in politics and we must encourage women to take up politics. Unfortunately women and youth are moving away from active politics. The concept of youth parliament was created to enhance the political participation of young people," he said.

The 2015 election for the youth parliament is held in a political environment which is more conducive for dissent and its heartening that the government has taken steps to empower those who will be elected.

"We will also be involved in training these young leaders. We must ensure that these representatives would be accountable to their voters. We must ensure that those who are elected to the youth parliament contest local and provincial elections and general elections," he said.