SRI LANKA: ELECTION COMMISSIONER INDICATES

UNCLAS COLOMBO 001446

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: ELECTION COMMISSIONER INDICATES
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS BY YEAR'S END

REF: A. COLOMBO 1106


B. COLOMBO 1354


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Responding to a case filed by the
opposition Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party with the Supreme
Court (SC),Election Commissioner (EC) Dayananda Dissanayake
on August 15 affirmed that President Chandrika Bandaranaike
Kumaratunga's second term began in December 1999--a tacit
acknowledgment that Presidential elections must take place by
November 2005. The EC's statement is the first public
indication of his views since debate over the end of the
President's term began brewing a year ago. The SC, which
will begin deliberations on the JHU petition on August 22,
could still overrule the EC's interpretation. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) A new chapter in the continuing controversy over the
end of President Kumaratunga's term--and thus the date for
Presidential elections (Reftels)--unfolded when EC Dayananda
Dissanayake on August 15 filed his response to the JHU
petition before the Supreme Court on the subject of the
election date. (Note: Constitutional rules are vague when an
incumbent calls for early elections during the first term in
office (Ref B). While the Constitution allows a single person
to hold two six-year terms as president, the debate stems
from the lack of clarity on the exact date a second term
begins if early elections are called. The Opposition
maintains the President's second term began when she was
sworn into office in December 1999. The President and her
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) on the other hand, contend
that the clock on her second term did not begin ticking until
a full six years after her first term began in 1994. End
Note.) Dissanayake, who is named as a defendant in the JHU
case, affirmed to the Court that the President's second term
began on December 22, 1999. Although Dissanayake's response
stopped short of explicitly stating when elections should be
held, simple arithmetic dictates elections before the end of
the year. The opposition United National Party (UNP)
welcomed Dissanayake's decision, stating that it proved the
constitutional legality on the presidential election question.


3. (U) If elections are to be held this year, Dissanayake
must announce the date of the election between August 27 and
October 9. Dissanayake's response to the JHU petition did
not tip his hand about the timing of such an
announcement--other than to affirm that it would be made
within the constitutional parameters.


4. (U) The Supreme Court is scheduled to begin deliberations
on the JHU case on August 22. While the Constitution gives
the Election Commissioner the power to announce the election
date, if the Supreme Court decides in favor of the SLFP's
counter-claims that the President's second term did not begin
until November 2000, the Supreme Court ruling will hold, and
elections will likely be postponed until 2006.


5. (SBU) COMMENT: Before the JHU petition was filed, the EC
shied away from public comment on the controversial question
of the President's second term and the date for elections.
His response to the JHU petition makes clear that Dissanayake
intends to announce elections in the next month or two. It
remains to be seen how the Supreme Court--including the
President's close personal friend, Chief Justice Sarath N.
Silva--is leaning on the issue. END COMMENT.
ENTWISTLE