Politics of Sri Lanka

Country name:
conventional long form: Sri Lanka Prajatantrika Samajavadi Janarajaya (Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka)
conventional short form: Sri Lanka
former: Ceylon

Data code: CE

Government type: republic

Capital: Colombo

Administrative divisions: 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
note: North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern

Independence: February 4, 1948 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence and National Day, February 4, (1948)

Constitution: adopted August 16, 1978

Legal system: a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga[?] (since November 12, 1994); note - Ranil Wickremasinghe[?] is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (since November 12, 1994)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held December 21, 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005)
election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (PA) 51%, Ranil Wickremasinghe (UNP) 42%, other 7%

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held December 7, 2001
election results: 2001 (75.8 % turnout) percent of vote by party - Ekshat Jathika Pakshaya (United National Party, UNP) 45.6%, Bahejana Nidasa Pakhsaya (People's Alliance, PA) 37.3%, Janatha Vimuktasi Peramuna (People's United Liberation Front, JVP) 9.1%, Tamil Vimuktasi Peramuna (Tamil United Liberation Front, TVP) 3.9%, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) 1.2%, Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) 0.8%, Democratic People's Liberation Front (DPLF) 0.2%, the Sinhala Urumaya (0.6%) and the New Left Front (0.5%) gained no seats.

1994 percent of vote by party - PA 49.0%, UNP 44.0%, SLMC 1.8%, TULF 1.7%, SLPF 1.1%, EPDP 0.3%, UPF 0.3%, PLOTE 0.1%, other 1.7%; seats by party - PA 105, UNP 94, EPDP 9, SLMC 7, TULF 5, PLOTE 3, SLPF 1, UPF 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president; Court of Appeals, judges are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders: All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [leader NA]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC [leader NA]; Communist Party [leader NA]; Communist Party/Beijing or CP/B [leader NA]; Democratic People's Liberation Front or DPLF [leader NA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [leader NA]; Desha Vimukthi Janatha Party or DVJP [leader NA]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [leader NA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [leader NA]; Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students or EROS [leader NA]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [leader NA]; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite or LSSP (Lanka Sama Samaja Party) [leader NA]; Liberal Party or LP [leader NA]; New Socialist Party or NSSP (Nava Sama Samaja Party) [leader NA]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDDHARTHAN]; People's United Front or MEP (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna) [Dinesh GUNAWARDENE]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [leader NA]; Sri Lanka People's Party or SLMP (Sri Lanka Mahajana Party) [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [leader NA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [leader NA]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [leader NA]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry People's Front or UPF [leader NA]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or provincial councils

Political pressure groups and leaders: Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE (insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups.

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24[?], G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, [[[IMO]], Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC[?], UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.

Flag description: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels

See also : Sri Lanka

Common misspelling and questions (FAQ)

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