The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a semi-presidential republic 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
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, after the Donoughmore Constitution, Soulbury Constitution, and Constitution of 1972. As of October 2020, it has been formally amended 21 times.
Executive branch
The President, directly elected for a five-year term, is head of state, head of government, chief executive, 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 of Sri Lanka, 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 SincePresident Anura Kumara DissanayakeNational People's Power23 September 2024Prime Minister Harini AmarasuriyaNational People's Power 24 September 2024
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
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the country. 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.
Sri Lanka has a legal system which is an amalgam of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law and Customary Law.
Elections
Sri Lanka elects on the national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a five-year term, and 196 members elected in multi-seat constituencies through a 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 the party obtains in the district.
List of Governments in Sri Lanka 1st - United National Party - from 1947 to 1952 2nd - United National Party - from 1952 to 1956 3rd - Sri Lanka Freedom Party - from 1956 to 1959 4th - United National Party - 1960 5th - Sri Lanka Freedom Party - from 1960 to 1965 6th - United National Party - from 1965 to 1970 7th - Sri Lanka Freedom Party - from 1970 to 1977 8th - United National Party - from 1977 to 1989 9th - United National Party - from 1989 to 1994 10th - People's Alliance - from 1994 to 2001 11th - United National Front - from 2001 to 2004 12th - United People's Alliance - from 2004 to 2010 13th - United People's Alliance - from 2010 to 2015 14th - New Democratic Front - from 2015 to 2019 15th - Sri Lankan People's Freedom Alliance - from 2019 to 2022 16th - New Democratic Front - from 2022 to 2024 17th - National People's Power - from 2024 to now
Notes
References
External links
General Government of Sri Lanka The Official Website of the Data and Information Unit of the Presidential Secretariat, Sri Lanka Law Official site of the Judicial Service Commission Secretariat Sri Lanka's Legal Information Network Executive Branch Official site of the Presidency Official site of the Presidential Secretariat Legislative Branch Official site of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Judiciary Official site of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka Official site of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka Others Official Government News Portal