Six More Years, Or Eight?
And then he cloned himself. Photo by me
Apparently GL Peiris is saying Mahinda will wait to take his oaths as President. In Sri Lanka the Presidential term is six years, but they can call the election after four. Then they win and serve for another term. However, there seems to be this interpretation that the Prez can bank those extra two years and serve for a total of eight. Which I think is against the Constitution, but what isn’t. That document says the Presidential poll has to be taken not more than two months before the end of the term of office, so by calling a poll the Prez effectively ends his term. Unless, apparently, he doesn’t feel like it.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was re-elected to office following the just concluded Presidential elections, does not need to take oaths immediately as he is the incumbent President and will be sworn in for his second term in due course, Government Minister G. L. Pieris told reporters in Colombo a short while ago. (Daily Mirror, entire story)
However, the Constitution says:
(3) The poll for the election of the President shall be taken not less than one month and not more than two months before the expiration of the term of office of the President in office.
15[(3a) (i) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding provisions of this Chapter, the President may, at any time after the expiration of four years from the commencement of his first term of office, by Proclamation, declare his intention of appealing to the People for a mandate to hold office, by election, for a further term.
and adds,
(d) The person declared elected as President at an election held under this paragraph shall, if such person –
(i) is the President in office, hold office for a term of six years commencing on such date in the year in which that election is held (being a date after such election) or in the succeeding year, as corresponds to the date on which his first term of office commenced, whichever date is earlier
The only bit of vagueness is here
(4) (Where a poll for the election of a President is taken, the term of office of the person elected as President at such election shall commence on the expiration of the term of office of the President in office
But I think the point is overall clear. The new President gets six more years, not eight. But seeing as the Constitution and law are violated every day, let’s see if he can get away with this.
Based on d (i), the term commences now. But enough with elections–what do you think of the new Apple iPad?
iPad? Not bad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eF0y0IfpPU
honestly, Indi.
Didn’t you see clause 3(d)
So the term does not expire by your rhetorical argument which is derived from the usual date for hold the presidential election, not the provision
MR can legally stay till this year’s November to start the next term.
About all this rigging talk: was there really much?
I mean the outcome matched the sentiment in the country by pre election polling.
If there was rigging, wouldn’t the MR vote be at least more than Chandrika’s previous 63%?
(i) is the President in office, hold office for a term of six years commencing on such date in the year in which that election is held (being a date after such election) or in the succeeding year, as corresponds to the date on which his first term of office commenced, whichever date is earlier ;
So if MR held elections in Jan 2010, the earliest date which corresponds to the date of commencing of his first term would be Nov 2010, if it was held in Oct 2010 then too it would be Nov 2010, but if he held it in Dec 2010, then the term would be Nov 2011. So from this MR can stay in his 1st term till Nov 2010, then he gets 6 more years in his second term…. so there is no hurry my boy… MR if he wants can take 7 years… but from my lame interpretation not 8… so don’t try to create more political blah blah by knowingly claiming that MR is trying for 8 years and not 7….!
By 7 I mean… including this year, and 6 years from Nov 2010
Hey Foodie … “If there was rigging, wouldn’t the MR vote be at least more than Chandrika’s previous 63%?” …. ya machan… just imagine rigging nearly 2million votes… if Indi or SF has ever been on election duty, it will be obvious to them that rigging 20mil is so impossible….. too large a margin to call that argument… the only argument is SF is TOO darn EGOISTIC to accept that he is not liked by the majority…. sour looser!
Either way it’s so gay!
2 years doesn’t make a difference when getting butt croaked.
Maybe he’ll give you parole?
Indi,
It is definitely six, I think. ;-)
“CBK unsuccessfully attempted to stay in office until late 2006, according to the argument that, since the 1999 presidential election was held a year early, she should be allowed to serve that left-over year (presidential terms are for six years), but this was rejected by the Supreme Court and said CBK’s term will end in December 2005.”
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Chandrika_Kumaratunga#Presidency
So I don’t think MR can even think about 8, unless the earlier Supreme Court order is completely ignored.
The Constitution need change.
six, eight all the same.
Guess anything more than four will be enough to grow a leader in the UNP.
As Indi said, what elese is there to violate…and who cares..
You are wrong. Sri Lankans have everything to lose.
SF is just doing what Prabhakaran did at the end.
He wants to destroy everything before running away.
dont whats legal, the constitutuin is too vague and I hope they go to supreme court and get a clarification. Importnatly, they should amend this document to make it more pracrical and conslcusive and also change things that have been highlighted as bad for 30 long years. Exmaple, is preferential voting. Exec president has too many powers, thank god we have a sensible person like MR who used those powers to end the war but others used it for what? Just from a people perspective, I don t think there is anyone to takever in 6 yrs just right now. Sajith is not matured enough, Ranil is a joker, and SF proved in front of country by being a traitor, lier and joker that he is not fit. So, we should rather see a strong, smiling, developing, accepted and country loving MR continue for 8 or more years!
Rohan Edrisinha, Head of the Legal and Constitutional Unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) addresses this issue and other key concerns in a short video here – vimeo.com/9047863
MR is not bad as you think.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/31/stories/2010013155231200.htm
I have no dog in this fight, but I believe the correct interpretation of the language in question is that MR gets six years from November 2010, unless he gives free iPads to the rural poor, in which case he gets a minimum of eight years — more if he decides to hold no more elections.
Professor Peiris’s advice to his ‘client’ is along the lines of, “Sit tight. You are the President, and no one can make you do anything.”