President of Sri Lanka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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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 involved with every aspect of the government and are able to hold cabinet posts, or can bypass the cabinet posts by delegating decisions to the Presidential Secretariat.
Presidents have little constraints on their power and they cannot be taken to court. However they they can be impeached by a two-thirds majority in Parliament. They can place the country in a state of emergency, under which they can override any law passed by Parliament[citation needed] and promulgate any regulation without needing legislative approval.
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.
[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.
- William Gopallawa (May 22, 1972 - 4 February 1978)
- Junius Richard Jayewardene (4 February 1978 - January 2, 1989)
- Ranasinghe Premadasa (2 January 1989 - 1 May 1993)
- Dingiri Banda Wijetunge (2 May 1993 - November 12, 1994)
- Chandrika Kumaratunga (November 12, 1994 - November 19, 2005)
- Mahinda Rajapaksa (November 19, 2005; incumbent)
[edit] Last election
| 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 | |||
