Sri Lanka court convicts president over vote delay
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Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe is seeking re-election for a five-year term in the September polls.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s top court found President Ranil Wickremesinghe guilty of “unlawful conduct” on Aug 22 for delaying by more than a year local polls seen as an unofficial referendum on his handling of the economy.
Since Mr Wickremesinghe enjoys immunity while in office, the judgment carries no immediate legal consequences, but the state of the economy is expected to be a key issue for voters in the presidential election in September.
Because the local polls were postponed, the Sept 21 election
Mr Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking re-election for a five-year term in September, and faces a daunting challenge from rival candidates.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Aug 22 unanimously held that he failed to release money to conduct the local government elections in March 2023. Mr Wickremesinghe’s administration said the money in state coffers was needed to pay public servants and pensions, despite a previous court order to finance the vote.
The court said Mr Wickremesinghe’s “arbitrary and unlawful conduct” in preventing the local polls had resulted in the infringement of constitutional rights. It ordered the independent election commission to hold the local polls as soon as possible, but without disrupting the upcoming presidential vote.
The state was also ordered to pay the legal fees of four petitioners who challenged the indefinite postponement of the polls.
Mr Wickremesinghe, previously an opposition MP, was elected by lawmakers in July 2022 as interim president after his predecessor Rajapaksa quit due to the protests over the economic crisis.
Mr Wickremesinghe secured a US$2.9 billion (S$3.8 billion) bailout loan
The local polls scheduled for March 2023 had been widely seen as a referendum on the unpopular austerity measures taken to secure the IMF bailout.
Opposition lawmakers accused Mr Wickremesinghe at the time of using the economic crisis as an excuse to sabotage democracy. AFP
