A/HRC/30/61 II. Engagement of the Office of the High Commissioner and the special procedures 7. When the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 25/1, the Government of Sri Lanka “categorically and unreservedly rejected” it and refused to engage “in any related process”. Former government ministers and officials repeatedly criticized and indeed vilified the OHCHR investigation in public and, more seriously, resorted to an unrelenting campaign of intimidation and harassment against victims, witnesses and representatives of civil society who might seek to provide information to OHCHR. 8. Since January 2015, the tenor of the Government’s engagement with OHCHR has changed markedly. Although the new Government did not change its stance on cooperation with the investigation, nor admit the investigation team to the country, it engaged more constructively with the High Commissioner and OHCHR on possible options for an accountability and reconciliation process. 9. The Government also invited the Special Rapporteur on truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence to make a technical visit from 30 March to 3 April 2015. The Special Rapporteur stressed the importance of developing a comprehensive State policy on transitional justice through broad public consultation and participation, particularly of persons affected by violations. 10. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances was also invited to visit Sri Lanka from 2 to 12 August 2015, but was requested to postpone its visit when these dates fell close to the parliamentary elections. The Working Group’s visit has now been confirmed for November 2015. III. Human rights and related developments 11. The presidential election of 8 January 2015 marked a watershed in the political environment in Sri Lanka. The common opposition candidate, Mathiripala Sirisena, defeated the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the support of a broad coalition derived from all ethnic communities and spread over the ideological spectrum. A new Cabinet was formed with the former opposition leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, as Prime Minister. 12. The manifesto of the new Government included a 100-day programme of constitutional reform and other measures, which culminated in the passage of the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution limiting the powers of the executive presidency, reintroduced limits to presidential terms and restored the Constitutional Council, which makes recommendations on appointments to the judiciary and independent commissions. The Chief Justice, who was controversially impeached in January 2013, was briefly reinstated before the senior-most judge on the bench was appointed as her successor. 13. Parliamentary elections were subsequently held on 17 August 2015. The United National Front for Good Governance, the coalition of parties that had governed since January 2015, won the largest number of seats, and a new Cabinet was formed on 4 September 2015. 14. Since January 2015 there has been a significant opening of space for freedom of expression, at least in Colombo, although reports of surveillance, interference and harassment of human rights defenders continued to be received at the district level. On 16 January, the Government lifted restrictions on access by journalists to the northern region. 4