Sirisena seeks Supreme Court's opinion for six-year term
Colombo: In an unusual move, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has sought the Supreme Court's opinion if he could be the president for six years, a request which contradicts the amendment he introduced to reduce the presidential term to five years.
Sirisena, 66, spearheaded the 19th amendment (19A) to the Constitution in 2015 to prune the presidential term from six to five years.
The president's term should end in 2020, but has sought the Supreme Court's opinion if he could continue until 2021.
The Registrar of the Supreme Court yesterday informed the members of legal fraternity that the consideration by the apex Court has been listed for January 11, officials said.
It said the President had requested an opinion which read, "whether in terms of provisions of the Constitution, I as the person elected and succeeding to the office of President and having assumed such office in terms of Article 32 (1) of the Constitution on January 9, 2015, have any impediment to continue in the office of President for a period of 6 years from January 9, 2015".
The request stands in direct contrast to Sirisena's action of backing the civil society's demand to abolish the presidency when he offered to be the Opposition's common candidate in 2015.
Instead of abolishing it, Sirisena introduced the 19A amendment which reduced the presidential term to five years while taking away the absolute control over the dissolution of parliament.
Sirisena's announcement has come amidst the ongoing differences with his coalition partner, the United National Party (UNP) which is headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sirisena's main backer in the 2015 election against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Sirisena defeated Rajapaksa with a clear reform agenda in 2015.
The President of late has criticised the UNP publicly and some party members have also been critical of him.
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Joe Root returns to England's ODI squad for India tour, Champions Trophy; Rehan Ahmed in T20Is
London, Dec 22: Veteran batter Joe Root’s return to 50-over format after more than a year headlined England’s squad announcement for the ODI tour to India and the ICC Champions Trophy.
Root’s previous assignment in the format was the 50-over World Cup held in India in 2023.
All-rounder and Test skipper Ben Stokes was not considered for selection as he has been recovering from a left hamstring injury sustained during the third Test against New Zealand earlier this month.
Seasoned batter Jos Buttler will lead the side, and the Lancashire man will also captain England in the T20I series against India, which precedes the ODIs.
England will play five T20Is and three ODIs during the white ball tour to India.
Leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who made his Test debut against India earlier this year, was included in the T20I squad.
In-form Harry Brook will get another chance to play international bilateral cricket in India after pulling out of the Test series earlier this year due to personal reasons.
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler (Captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.
England T20I squad: Jos Buttler (Captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.
India vs England Schedule:
T20I: 1st T20I: January 22, Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
2nd T20I: January 25, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
3rd T20I: January 28, Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot.
4th T20I: January 31, MCA Stadium, Pune.
5th T20I: February 2, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
ODIs:
1st ODI: February 6, VCA Stadium, Nagpur.
2nd ODI: February 9, Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.
3rd ODI: February 12, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
