Sri Lanka

Politics

The president of the republic, who is directly elected for a six-year term, serves as head of state, head of government and commander in chief of the armed forces. The president is responsible to parliament for the exercise of duties in accordance with the constitution and laws. The incumbent may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of parliament, with the concurrence of the Supreme Court. The president appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers responsible to parliament. The president's deputy is the prime minister, who leads the ruling party in parliament.

Related Topics:
President - Republic - Head of state - Head of government - Commander in chief - Constitution - Cabinet - Prime minister

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The Sri Lankan Parliament is a unicameral 225-member legislature. Members are elected by universal (adult) suffrage on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to a six-year term. The primary modification is a unique "bonus seat" provision, where the party that receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains an additional or "bonus" seat (see Hickman, 1999). The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve parliament any time after it has served for one year. Parliament reserves the power to make all laws. Since its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Related Topics:
Parliament - Unicameral - Proportional representation - Commonwealth of Nations

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Parliament was dissolved on February 7, 2004 by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. New elections were held on April 2 and the new parliament convened on April 23 and elected Mahinda Rajapakse as the prime minister.

Related Topics:
February 7 - 2004 - Chandrika Kumaratunga - April 2 - April 23

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In August 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that presidential elections would be held in November 2005, resolving a long-running dispute on the length of President Kumaratunga's term. Mahinda Rajapakse was nominated as the SLFP candidate and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was nominated as the UNP candidate.

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See also: Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2004

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