President of Sri Lanka

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The President of Sri Lanka is the head of state and dominant political figure in Sri Lanka. The office was created in 1978 but has grown so powerful there have been calls to restrict or even eliminate its power. The current President is Mahinda Rajapaksa.


Sri Lanka

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[edit] Sri Lanka's Executive Presidency

At independence, Sri Lanka had no president. Executive power resided with the Prime Minister; titular power was with the Governor General. The 1972 constitution replaced the Governor General with a President, but that remained a ceremonial position.

The 1978 constitution moved from a Westminster-based political system into one modeled on France. As in France, a new, directly elected President with a longer term and independence from Parliament was created. The President was commander-in-chief of the armed forces, chose the Prime Minister, and could dissolve Parliament.

In practice, the Sri Lankan presidency was much more powerful than the President of France. French presidents traditionally deal only with defense and foreign policy, leaving domestic affairs to the Prime Minister. Sri Lankan presidents are concerned with every aspect of government. The President can even hold cabinet posts, or can bypass the cabinet posts by delegating decisions to the Presidential Secretariat.

Presidents have very little constraints on their power; they cannot be impeached and they cannot be taken to court. They can place the country in a state of emergency, under which they can override any law passed by Parliament and promulgate any regulation without needing legislative approval.

The considerable power of the President has often been blamed for the decline of democracy in Sri Lanka. The Black July pogroms, the death squads used to crush the second JVP uprising, and the frequent use of torture, and denial of rights like habeas corpus during the Sri Lankan civil war have been traced to decisions made unilaterally by Presidents and unchallenged anywhere else in the political system.

In the 1994 election, Chandrika Kumaratunga of the People's Alliance promised to be the last Executive President, bringing in constitutional reforms to return to Westminster-style government. This did not happen during her time in office. Although many Sri Lankans would like to eliminate the post, the seductions of power it provides make this unlikely.

[edit] List of presidents

The following is a list of Sri Lankan Presidents. The President is elected under the Sri Lankan form of the contingent vote.

[edit] Last election

[discuss] – [edit]
Summary of the 17 November 2005 Sri Lanka presidential election results
Candidate Party Votes %
Mahinda Rajapakse United People's Freedom Alliance 4,887,152 50.29
Ranil Wickremesinghe United National Party 4,706,366 48.43
Siritunga Jayasuriya United Socialist Party 35,425 0.36
Ashoka Suraweera Jathika Sangwardhena Peramuna 31,238 0.32
Victor Hettigoda Eksath Lanka Podujana Pakshaya 14,458 0.15
Chamil Jayaneththi New Left Front 9,296 0.10
Aruna de Soyza Ruhunu Janatha Party 7,685 0.08
Wimal Geeganage Sri Lanka National Front 6,639 0.07
Anura de Silva United Lalith Front 6,357 0.07
Ajith Arachchige Democratic Unity Alliance 5,082 0.05
Wije Dias Socialist Equality Party 3,500 0.04
Nelson Perera Sri Lanka Progressive Front 2,525 0.03
H. Dharmadwaja United National Alternative Front 1,316 0.01
Total 9,717,039  
Registered Voters 13,327,160
Total Votes cast 9,826,778
Invalid Votes 109,739
Valid Votes cast 9,717,039

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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