Sri Lanka Project

Introduction
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා

රජය, romanized: Śrī Lankā Rajaya) is a semi-presidential
system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the
island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the
administrative capital of Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Constitution of Sri Lanka
The Constitution of Sri Lanka has been the constitution of the island nation of Sri
Lanka since its original promulgation by the National State Assembly on 7
September 1978. It is Sri Lanka's second republican constitution, and its third
constitution since the country's independence (as Ceylon) in 1948. As of October
2020 it has been formally amended 20 times.
There is universal adult suffrage with proportional representation; parliamentary and

presidential elections are held every six years. Parliament has a single chamber with
225 members. Members are directly elected, but vacant seats occurring during the
life of a parliament go to nominees of the party holding the seat. Ministers are
appointed by the president, who chairs the cabinet and appoints the independent
judiciary.
Amendments may be made to the constitution, subject to a two-thirds majority in

parliament; however, to amend certain entrenched articles of the constitution
approval in a national referendum is also required. The constitution provides for
provincial councils.
The Eighteenth Amendment – enacted in September 2010 – removed the limit on

the number of terms a president may serve, previously set at two.
Executive branch
The President, directly elected for a five-year term, is head of state, head of
government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The election occurs under
the Sri Lankan form of the contingent vote. Responsible to Parliament for the
exercise of duties under the constitution and laws, the president 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. The President can dissolve the cabinet and appoint a new one at any
time.
Main office holders
Office Name Party Since
Gotabaya Sri Lanka Podujana

President 18 November 2019
Rajapaksa Peramuna
Prime Sri Lanka Podujana

Mahinda Rajapaksa 21 November 2019
Minister Peramuna
Elections in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature.
Sri Lanka has a multi party system, with two dominant political parties. All elections
are administered by the Election Commission of Sri Lanka.
President Elections in Sri Lanka
The president is directly elected for a five-year term, through a version of Instant-
runoff voting in which electors rank up to three candidates, and limited to only two
rounds in total. If no candidate wins a majority in the first round of voting, second and
third preferences from ballots whose first preference candidate has been eliminated
are used to determine the winner.[1] However, there has never been an instance
where a "run-off" count has been needed since the introduction of directly elected
president in the 1980s, as a candidate reached 50% in the first count in all elections.
Parliament Elections in Sri Lanka
The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a five-year term, 196 members

elected in multi-seat constituencies through proportional representation system
where each party is allocated a number of seats from the quota for each district
according to the proportion of the total vote that party obtains in the district. The
other 29 which is called the national list are appointed by each party secretary
according to the island wide proportional vote the party obtains.
Legislative branch
The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a six-year term, 196 members elected
in multi-seat constituencies and 29 by proportional representation. 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.
The primary modification is that the party that receives the largest number of valid
votes in each constituency gains a unique "bonus seat" (see Hickman, 1999). Since
its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has remained a member of the Commonwealth
of Nations.
Judicial branch / system of srilanka

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the
country. The judicial system comprises the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the
High Court, and the district, magistrates’ and primary courts. Appeals from the High
Court and lower courts come before the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court is the
final court of appeal.
The High Court has jurisdiction in criminal matters, the district courts in civil
matters.Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president, others by the
Judicial Service Commission.
It is set out in the constitution, which defines courts as independent institutions within
the traditional framework of checks and balances.
The Sri Lankan courts are presided over by professional judges, judges of the
Supreme Court are appointed by the President with the nomination of
the Parliamentary Council, others by the Judicial Service Commission.[2]
Sri Lanka has a legal system which is an amalgam of English common law, Roman-
Dutch civil law and Customary Law.

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Introduction

The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා

Constitution of Sri Lanka

There is universal adult suffrage with proportional representation; parliamentary and

Amendments may be made to the constitution, subject to a two-thirds majority in

The Eighteenth Amendment – enacted in September 2010 – removed the limit on

Office Name Party Since

Gotabaya Sri Lanka Podujana

Prime Sri Lanka Podujana

Elections in Sri Lanka

President Elections in Sri Lanka

Parliament Elections in Sri Lanka

The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a five-year term, 196 members

Judicial branch / system of srilanka

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