112-476: [REDACTED] The president of Sri Lanka ( Sinhala : ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති Śrī Lankā Janādhipathi ; Tamil : இலங்கை ஜனாதிபதி Ilankai janātipati ) is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka . The president is the chief executive of the union government and the commander-in-chief of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces . The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, in addition to their relation with
224-561: A pardon . The president has immunity from both civil and criminal proceedings. The president has the power to commission public inquires by appointing a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate any issue. President of Sri Lanka is the nation's Chief Diplomat. Through this role, they are responsible for carrying out negotiations with foreign leaders and their governments and appoint diplomatic agents . The president has an important ceremonial role in terms of state ceremonies, functions, and awarding state awards. Most notable would be
336-486: A $ 1 billion international sovereign bond (ISB) maturing in July. In 2020, US economist Joseph Eugene Stiglitz , published a report that blamed the quantitative easing policy made by US banks after 2008, for exporting debt bubbles to developing countries including Sri Lanka. In the same year, Chatham House published a report that concluded that Sri Lanka's debt crisis was primarily "a result of domestic policy decisions and
448-456: A 20% drop in rice production within the first six months, reversing previously achieved self-sufficiency and requiring $ 450 million of rice imports. In lower tea production alone, the nation suffered losses of $ 425 million. The tea industry was decimated by the organic farming requirement, with farmers complaining of ten times the expenses with half the yields. The program was welcomed by its advisor Vandana Shiva , but it ignored warnings from
560-488: A 33.5% decline in registered taxpayers, reducing VAT to 8%, reducing corporate tax from 28% to 24%, the abolishment of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax and the 2% “nation-building tax” which financed infrastructure development. The massive loss of tax revenue resulted in rating agencies downgrading the sovereign credit rating making it harder to take more debt. In 2021 P. B. Jayasundera stated that President Rajapaksa
672-557: A 61% reduction in official remittances in January 2022. In turn Cabraal threatened to freeze bank accounts of those that use unofficial money transmission methods. Then Cabraal began targeting merchandise and services exporters with exporter dollar surrender requirements forcing the residual after the utilization of export proceeds to be converted into rupees and forcefully converting dollars in forex accounts of resident Sri Lankans who earn dollar salaries ignoring concerns of this creating
784-750: A Chinese ‘strategic trap’ in Sri Lanka. Strategic-trap diplomacy term was coined by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera and published initially on 16 September 2021, assessing the Chinese Debt-trap diplomacy in Sri Lanka at an interview with Voice of America . Chatham House published a research paper in 2020 concluding that Sri Lanka's debt distress was unconnected to Chinese lending, but resulted more from "domestic policy decisions" facilitated by Western lending and monetary policy than from Chinese government policies. However while external debt owed to China
896-662: A Dravidian origin for this word. ), dola for pig in Vedda and offering in Sinhala. Other common words are rera for wild duck, and gala for stones (in toponyms used throughout the island, although others have also suggested a Dravidian origin). There are also high frequency words denoting body parts in Sinhala, such as olluva for head, kakula for leg, bella for neck and kalava for thighs, that are derived from pre-Sinhalese languages of Sri Lanka. The oldest Sinhala grammar, Sidatsan̆garavā , written in
1008-539: A US$ 400 million increase. Sri Lanka teeters on the edge of financial insolvency and has halted repayments on its international debts. According to W. A. Wijewardena, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka , the country was a long way into an economic crisis in 2015. The government that came into power in 2015 knew this and had been warned by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka about
1120-498: A credible fiscal plan and monetary policy, increasing taxes to repay debt, and interest rates and opening of imports would allow taxes to flow back to the Treasury. While it is possible to raise rates and generate dollars to repay the foreign debt by curtailing domestic credit, it is not practical to do so on an ongoing basis for many years. If investors see foreign reserves going up after debt repayments, confidence may come back but it
1232-671: A failed prediction in April 2021 the World Bank stated, “Despite the heavy toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sri Lanka's economy and the lives of its people, the economy will recover in 2021, though challenges remain." Sri Lanka had been self-sufficient in rice production with imports limited to specialty rice such as Basmati. In April 2021, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced that Sri Lanka would only allow organic farming , banning inorganic agrochemical fertilizers . The policy led to
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#17327649459271344-531: A food emergency was declared. However, the government denied food shortages. Sri Lanka's Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila acknowledged the crisis could lead to a financial disaster. In early April 2022 the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ajith Nivard Cabraal was replaced by Nandalal Weerasinghe . On 5 April, 41 members of the Parliament left the ruling coalition causing a loss of majority in
1456-623: A global food crisis and fueling inflation. A UN report in September 2022 highlighted that impunity of Sri Lankan officials for human rights violations and economic crimes are causes of the economic crisis. Sri Lanka ranks 102nd in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) . In 2021, the Sri Lankan Government officially declared the worst economic crisis in the country in 73 years. In August 2021,
1568-485: A nationwide policy to shift to organic or biological farming, the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings , and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka . The subsequent economic hardships resulted in the 2022 Sri Lankan protests . Sri Lanka received a lifeline in the form of an Indian line of credit amounting to $ 4 billion. This substantial credit infusion served to cover the costs of importing essential goods and fuel. As
1680-525: A number of risks. While the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2015 had presented a strong economic policy to address the situation, the coalition government could not get the policy pushed through Parliament, which would eventually result in further policy confusion in the coming months. The government did not adequately address the economic warnings and emerging dangers, consuming itself in other government related activities such as "constitutional reforms". Certain practices, including those used by
1792-722: A period of prior bilingualism: "The earliest type of contact in Sri Lanka, not considering the aboriginal Vedda languages, was that which occurred between South Dravidian and Sinhala. It seems plausible to assume prolonged contact between these two populations as well as a high degree of bilingualism. This explains why Sinhala looks deeply South Dravidian for an Indo-Aryan language. There is corroboration in genetic findings." In addition to many Tamil loanwords , several phonetic and grammatical features also present in neighbouring Dravidian languages set modern spoken Sinhala apart from its Northern Indo-Aryan relatives. These features are evidence of close interactions with Dravidian speakers. Some of
1904-440: A result, the foreign currency reserves of debt-ridden Sri Lanka experienced a notable improvement, reaching $ 2.69 billion. Sri Lanka had been earmarked for sovereign default , as the remaining foreign exchange reserves of US$ 1.9 billion as of March 2022 would not be sufficient to pay the country's foreign debt obligations for 2022, with $ 4 billion to be repaid. An International Sovereign Bond repayment of $ 1 billion
2016-517: A second term.” But "A person succeeding to the office of the President under the provisions of article 40 of the constitution shall not be entitled to exercise the right conferred above." Succession to or vacancies in the office of president may arise under several possible circumstances: death or incapacity, resignation, or removal from office. In the case when the president is unable to perform their duties, their powers are temporarily transferred to
2128-412: A similar situation to remittances. As Banks struggled, Cabraal issued warning letters to CEOs of banks demanding strict adherence to the fixed conversion rate. Former Deputy Governor of CBSL W.A Wijeywardana criticized the policies calling it "Cabraalnomics 2.0" noting that the dollars are disappearing from official markets while a superior dynamic black market has caused exporters and immigrants to shun
2240-469: A third term of presidency in 2015 , wherein he was defeated by Maithripala Sirisena . The 19th Constitutional Amendment undid much of the changes done by the 18th Amendment. The two-term limit was restored by president Maithripala Sirisena. The amendment required the president to consult the prime minister on ministerial appointments. It curtailed any president's immunity by making them liable to fundamental rights litigation on any official act. In 2022,
2352-400: Is Sri Lanka's largest bilateral lender. In 2007, the state-owned Chinese firms China Harbour Engineering Company and Sinohydro Corporation were hired to build the port for $ 361 million. Exim funded 85 percent of the project at an annual interest rate of 6.3 percent. After the project began losing money and Sri Lanka's debt-servicing burden increased, its government decided to lease
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#17327649459272464-463: Is a conspicuous example of the linguistic phenomenon known as diglossia . Sinhala ( Siṁhala ) is a Sanskrit term; the corresponding Middle Indo-Aryan ( Eḷu ) word is Sīhala . The name is a derivative of siṁha , the Sanskrit word for 'lion'. The name is sometimes glossed as 'abode of lions', and attributed to a supposed former abundance of lions on the island. According to
2576-599: Is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka , who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. Sinhala is also spoken as the first language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, totalling about 2 million speakers as of 2001. It is written using the Sinhala script , which is a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. Sinhala
2688-515: Is an arduous affair, which may or may not work given the current ideology. In September 2021, the government announced an economic emergency, as the situation was further aggravated by the falling national currency exchange rate, inflation rising as result of high food prices, and pandemic restrictions in tourism which further decreased the country's income. This drove Sri Lanka to the brink of bankruptcy due to foreign reserves falling to $ 1.9 billion as of March 2022, this being insufficient to pay
2800-417: Is an ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka that started in 2019. It is the country's worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948. It has led to unprecedented levels of inflation , near-depletion of foreign exchange reserves , shortages of medical supplies, and an increase in prices of basic commodities. The crisis is said to have begun due to multiple compounding factors like tax cuts , money creation ,
2912-484: Is divided into four epochs: The most important phonetic developments of Sinhala include: According to Wilhelm Geiger , an example of a possible Western feature in Sinhala is the retention of initial /v/ which developed into /b/ in the Eastern languages (e.g. Sanskrit viṁśati "twenty", Sinhala visi- , Hindi bīs ). This is disputed by Muhammad Shahidullah who says that Sinhala Prakrit branched off from
3024-665: Is eligible to serve two terms. According to the Article 31 (3A) of the Constitution, The Term of office starts from the Date of the Inauguration of the President and he can call an early Presidential election after expiration of 4 years of his first term. If the elected President did not call can early Presidential election, the next Presidential election shall take place not more than two months and not less than one month before
3136-474: Is held by multilateral development banks, followed by Japan having 10%. Supporters of the debt-trap theory noted that "calculating the volume of loans provided by other foreign nations and sovereign bonds/private commercial loans vis-a-vis that from China is an oft quoted argument to dismiss the theory of debt-trap diplomacy". In January 2022, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa 's office stated that it would appeal to China to reschedule its debt burden during talks with
3248-412: Is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka, alongside Tamil . Along with Pali , it played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature. Early forms of the Sinhala language are attested as early as the 3rd century BCE. The language of these inscriptions, still retaining long vowels and aspirated consonants, is a Prakrit similar to Magadhi , a regional associate of
3360-450: Is ranked at the level of a cabinet minister in the order of precedence . Apart from a bar of standing for election for a third term as President, a former President has no restriction from holding any other office. While most Presidents retired from public life after their tenure, Mahinda Rajapaksa continued to engage in active politics after his term in office, serving as a Member of Parliament for Kurunegala from 2015 to 2024, Leader of
3472-445: Is the largest project by China in Sri Lanka and has a total value of $ 1.4 billion. The damage to the once-prosperous tourism industry from the COVID-19 pandemic has also been blamed for failing to generate enough revenue to pay the country's debts. The Australian Lowy Institute said that Sri Lanka was "not engulfed in a Chinese debt trap ", as 47% of Sri Lanka's external debt is owed to international capital markets, while 22%
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3584-729: The Middle Indian Prakrits that had been used during the time of the Buddha . The most closely related languages are the Vedda language (an endangered, indigenous creole still spoken by a minority of Sri Lankans, mixing Sinhala with an isolate of unknown origin and from which Old Sinhala borrowed various aspects into its main Indo-Aryan substrate), and the Maldivian language . It has two main varieties, written and spoken, and
3696-574: The Prime minister and Government of Sri Lanka , have over time differed with the various constitutional documents since the creation of the office. The president appoints the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka who can command the confidence of the Parliament of Sri Lanka . Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the 10th and current president, having assumed office on 23 September 2024, after being declared
3808-587: The UNESCO National Commission of Ceylon According to Wilhelm Geiger , Sinhala has features that set it apart from other Indo-Aryan languages. Some of the differences can be explained by the substrate influence of the parent stock of the Vedda language . Sinhala has many words that are only found in Sinhala, or shared between Sinhala and Vedda and not etymologically derivable from Middle or Old Indo-Aryan. Possible examples include kola for leaf in Sinhala and Vedda (although others suggest
3920-505: The governor-general with the prime minister serving as the head of government . The governor-general replaced the position of the Governor of British Ceylon , who had previously exercised executive control over the entire island since 1815. In 1972, the new Republican Constitution declared Sri Lanka a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state. The president was a largely ceremonial figure; real power remained vested in
4032-464: The presidential yacht . President's Security Division (PSD) is the main unit charged with the close protection of the President of Sri Lanka. During President Mahinda Rajapakse 's time in office the specialized Army unit the ' President's Guard ' was formed for Presidential Security. Prior to the formation of the President's Guard, army personnel served as a squadron under the President's Security Division since 1996 and focused on key tasks including
4144-465: The prime minister until confirmed by Parliament. According to the Article 40 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka , "If the office of President shall become vacant prior to the expiration of his term of office, Parliament shall elect as President one of its Members who is qualified to be elected to the office of President. Any person so succeeding to the office of President shall hold office only for
4256-607: The prime minister , cabinet and non-cabinet ministers , provincial governors , public officers , ambassadors and commissioned officers of the armed forces. The president may also appoint secretaries, officers, and staff. The president would have the power to appoint and remove, the chief justice , justices of the Supreme Court , justices of the Court of Appeal and judges of the High Court . The president may grant
4368-611: The resignation of President Rajapaksa . In both times, they were succeeded by then Prime Ministers; D. B. Wijetunga in 1993 and Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2022. At the time of the Creation of office in 1972, the term of the office of the President was a term of six years. After the Introduction of the Executive Presidency in 1978, The President is elected by Popular vote and shall hold the office for 6 years and
4480-462: The secretary to the president (also known as the president's secretary ), who is the most senior civil servant in the country. The president has the ability to appoint any number of advisers as presidential advisers . The highest-ranking of which is known as senior advisers . During his tenure, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had appointed 38 advisers. The chief of staff is the highest-ranking officer that handles presidential staff.Currently
4592-578: The value-added tax (VAT) rate from 11 percent to 15 percent, and broadened the VAT base by removing exemptions. Many of the reforms were reversed by the new government after the 2019 elections. Under Maithripala Sirisena administration , the 2019 Central Bank Bill was drafted to make the Central Bank independent from political influence by banning the Treasury Secretary and any member of
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4704-464: The 13th century CE, recognised a category of words that exclusively belonged to early Sinhala. The grammar lists naram̆ba (to see) and koḷom̆ba (fort or harbour) as belonging to an indigenous source. Koḷom̆ba is the source of the name of the commercial capital Colombo . The consistent left branching syntax and the loss of aspirated stops in Sinhala is attributed to a probable South Dravidian substratum effect. This has been explained by
4816-627: The 21st century. In June 2022, then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in parliament that the economy had collapsed, leaving it unable to pay for essentials. In September 2022, a United Nations report said that the economic crisis is a result of officials' impunity for human rights abuses and economic crimes. According to the Sri Lankan finance ministry, the country's foreign reserves had grown by 23.5% from US$ 1.7 billion in September 2022 to US$ 2.1 billion in February 2023, representing
4928-626: The CBSL allegedly printed 119.08 billion rupees, making it the highest reported amount printed on a single day by the CBSL for the year 2022. The total money added to financial markets for the year 2022 increased to Rs. 432.76 billion. Until mid-2000s, the Sri Lankan debt was mainly from multilateral lending agencies, after which it was reoriented under the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa to foreign investors and lenders. Sri Lanka issued its first international sovereign bond in 2007, with high interest rates to incentivise investors. According to commentators,
5040-537: The Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi . As of March 2022, there has been no official response from China. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka under Cabraal attempted to maintain the Sri Lankan rupee pegged while continuing heavy money printing and strict exchange controls thus pushing down the market value of the rupee. Thus, by February 2022 while the government attempted to keep the currency pegged at Rs. 200/- to
5152-716: The Eastern Prakrits prior to this change. He cites the edicts of Ashoka , no copy of which shows this sound change. An example of an Eastern feature is the ending -e for masculine nominative singular (instead of Western -o ) in Sinhalese Prakrit. There are several cases of vocabulary doublets , one example being the words mæssā ("fly") and mækkā ("flea"), which both correspond to Sanskrit makṣikā but stem from two regionally different Prakrit words macchiā (Western Prakrits) and makkhikā (as in Eastern Prakrits like Pali ). In 1815,
5264-536: The Elder saying that ancient Sri Lankans had a lifespan of 140 years, and that poisonous modern agricultural chemicals have halved this to 74 years. Both Dr Anurudha Padeniya, President of the GMOA , and Gotabaya Rajapaksa have associated the use of chemical fertilizer with chronic kidney disease , but scientific research has blamed the high mineral content of local water, including fluoride and magnesium, combined with
5376-549: The Government from becoming members of the Monetary Board. Money printing was also to be banned under this bill, as it states: "The Central Bank shall not purchase securities issued by the government, by any government-owned entity, or any other public entity in the primary market." Then Central Bank Governor, Indrajit Coomaraswamy , noted Balance of Payments issues, increased inflation, and asset bubbles as reasons for
5488-520: The Ministry of Finance led by Ravi Karunanayake , were globally frowned upon. Election related economic decisions were pushed such as excessive distribution of freebies. The Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka's 2014 State of the Economy Report highlighted hot money , worrying borrowing practices, temporary and superficial quick-fixes and monopoly of foreign direct investment flow into
5600-554: The Opposition from 2018 to 2019, and Prime Minister from 2019 to 2022; while Sirisena served as Member of Parliament for Polonnaruwa from 2020 to 2024. Sinhala language Sinhala ( / ˈ s ɪ n h ə l ə , ˈ s ɪ ŋ ə l ə / SIN -hə-lə, SING -ə-lə ; Sinhala: සිංහල , siṁhala , [ˈsiŋɦələ] ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( / ˌ s ɪ n ( h ) ə ˈ l iː z , ˌ s ɪ ŋ ( ɡ ) ə ˈ l iː z / SIN -(h)ə- LEEZ , SING -(g)ə- LEEZ ),
5712-531: The Parliament. The economic crises has resulted in declines in electricity, fuel and cooking gas consumption, resulting from shortages. Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa urged all government authorities to switch off all street lights at least up until the end of March 2022 in an attempt to conserve electricity. Nearly 1000 bakeries have been shut as a response to shortages of cooking gas. Long queues have formed in recent months in front of petrol filling stations. The surge in global oil prices further aggravated
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#17327649459275824-416: The President can dismiss both the national and state governments from power in 3 situations: corruption, treason, and inability to govern. The president has the right to attend Parliament once in every three months, but is not entitled to vote. They have the right to address or send messages to Parliament and to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament. The president makes numerous appointments which include
5936-472: The Private Secretary to the President. A window of a former president is entitled to a monthly secretarial allowance, equal to the current salary of the Private Secretary to a cabinet minister . A former president and the widow of a former president are entitled to official transport and all such other facilities provided to a cabinet minister. A former President or the widow of a former president
6048-505: The United States dollar, the unofficial market value of the rupee exceeded 248 to the dollar. As a consequence, Sri Lanka's credibility among lenders has been undermined, further exacerbating the challenge of accessing international financial markets for borrowing purposes. This led to foreign workers remitting money through unofficial channels causing Sri Lankan banks to run out of foreign currency and foreign remittances to crash with
6160-541: The administrative functions of the presidency and other ministerial portfolios that are held by the president. Initially located at President's House , the staff of the office of the president grew with the establishment of the executive presidency and moved into the former Parliament building in Colombo in the 1980s which now hosts the Presidential Secretariat. The Presidential Secretariat is headed by
6272-401: The agency Bellwether, "To solve Sri Lanka's 'budgetary problem' in repaying debt, Treasuries auctions have to succeed. When that is done, the 'transfer problem' of foreign exchange will be automatically solved... Instead, with failed Treasury bill auctions filled with printed money, the country is slipping deeper into debt." To resolve the debt crisis, Bellwether noted that Sri Lanka would need
6384-452: The ban. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Party opposed an independent Central Bank and discarded the bill as soon as they came to power. Many experts compared Lebanon's economic situation with that of Sri Lanka and had warned that Sri Lanka too was on the way to defaulting on its sovereign bonds. Both nations had similar issues, including deep economic crises occurring after their successive governments piled up unsustainable debts following
6496-476: The bribery and corruption commission. In 2010, the highly controversial 18th Amendment to the constitution was introduced in order to remove the two-term limit for the presidency. The 18th amendment allowed the incumbent president to serve multiple terms as well as increase their power by replacing the broader constitutional council with a limited parliamentary council . This amendment was introduced by president Mahinda Rajapaksa and he later went on to run for
6608-425: The cabinet of ministers, and has the power to dissolve and call a parliament. The prime minister would serve as both an assistant and the deputy to the president and also the president's successor. The 17th Constitutional Amendment introduced in 2001 reduced certain powers of the president, in particular in regard to the appointment of the upper judiciary and independent commissions such as the election commission or
6720-487: The case of Sri Lanka. Former Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa defended the country's relationship with China and rejected the country's debt trap image, adding that "China provided concessionary loans for many infrastructure projects [during the post-conflict development]." In regards to the Hambantota Port, he added, "The Hambantota Port is not a debt trap." Rajapaksa dismissed the view that Sri Lanka
6832-681: The chronicle Mahāvaṃsa , written in Pali, Prince Vijaya of the Vanga Kingdom and his entourage merged in Sri Lanka with later settlers from the Pandya kingdom . In the following centuries, there was substantial immigration from Eastern India, including additional migration from the Vanga Kingdom (Bengal), as well as Kalinga and Magadha . This influx led to an admixture of features of Eastern Prakrits. The development of Sinhala
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#17327649459276944-532: The consolidated fund. It was increased from LKR 25,000 (≈ $ 500) to LKR 100,000 in 2006. By tradition, the president and past presidents are not subjected to income tax . This practice dates back to the pre-republic era when the crown was not subject to tax . In 2018, this practice was changed with the Inland Revenue Bill which removed the tax exemption given to the President. The president has immunity from both civil or criminal proceedings, during
7056-422: The country caved into a severe economic crisis , and as result, mass anti-government protests erupted across Sri Lanka. The protesters demanded for then-incumbent president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government step down. The protestors also demanded amendments to the Constitution of Sri Lanka and to reduce the powers of the President. After Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation, prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
7168-418: The country mainly triggered due to the lack of foreign reserves to import paper. The term test examinations were stated to be held island-wide on 28 March 2022, but due to the acute shortage of printing paper and ink ribbons, a decision was made to either cancel or postpone the exams to a later date. Government-owned public and state-approved private schools were reopened on 25 July 2022, after being closed for
7280-476: The country or any part under a state of emergency , under which they can override any law passed and promulgate any regulation without needing legislative approval. However, to prolong the state of emergency for more than 6 months, parliamentary approval is needed. In case of external invasion, a state of national defense can be proclaimed, which allows the government extraordinary powers. Martial law can be declared in provinces under extraordinary conditions. Further,
7392-425: The date of taking a public oath of office for the elected term. The President of Sri Lanka is elected through a system of limited ranked voting . Voters can express up to three ranked preferences for the presidency. If no candidate receives more than 50% of all valid votes in the first count, all candidates except the two who received the highest number of votes are eliminated. The second and third preference votes of
7504-484: The eliminated candidates are then redistributed to the remaining two candidates until one of them secures an outright majority. Article 31 (3A)(a)(i) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, states that, 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
7616-479: The elite Special Task Force (STF) of the Sri Lanka Police . After the oath of office has been taken by the elected president, a presidential flag was adopted by the president as the insignia of their office. Each president had a unique standard, incorporating traditional symbols associated with the president or their home region. This was the case until Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe abolished
7728-522: The end of civil wars ( Lebanese and Sri Lankan respectively). To reduce the inflation and control the economy crisis in April 2022, Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe was appointed as the 17th Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to replace Ajith Nivard Cabraal. The Government of Sri Lanka under president Gotabaya Rajapaksa made large tax cuts that affected government revenue and fiscal policies , causing budget deficits to soar. These cuts included increased tax-free thresholds that resulted in
7840-548: The end of the month and again increased to 15 hours in early April. As of July 2022, the daily power cuts were reduced to 3 hours a day. The dailies The Island and Divaina stopped print publication due to paper shortages and related price escalation and switched to e-papers. Sri Lanka's hydroelectricity generation has also been affected. On 28 June 2022, the government suspended fuel sales to non-essential vehicles. Only buses, trains, and vehicles used for medical services and transporting food could obtain fuel. Due to
7952-510: The expiration of the term of the incumbent President. 19th Amendment to the Constitution reduced the term of office to Five years and the Incumbent President can call an early Presidential election after the expiration of four years of his first term. Furthermore, Article 31 (3A) of the Constitution states that an any person succeeding to the office of President under the provisions of Article 40 shall not be entitled to exercise
8064-696: The features that may be traced to Dravidian influence are: ඒක ēka it අලුත් aḷut new කියලා kiyalā having-said මම mama I දන්නවා dannavā know ඒක අලුත් කියලා මම දන්නවා ēka aḷut kiyalā mama dannavā it new having-said I know "I know that it is new." ඒක ēka it අලුත් aḷut new ද da Q කියලා kiyalā having-said මම mama I දන්නේ Sri Lankan economic crisis (2019%E2%80%93present) 1. Resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa 2. Accountability for corruption 3. Economic reforms 4. Access to essential services 5. Political reforms 6. Youth participation The Sri Lankan economic crisis
8176-521: The foreign debt obligations of $ 4 billion and an International Sovereign Bond (ISB) payment of $ 1 billion for the year 2022. The national inflation rate increased to 17.5% in February 2022, according to the National Consumer Price Index. The government repaid $ 500 million International Sovereign Bonds which was due in January 2022 despite growing opposition coming from economic analysts and experts who all advised
8288-469: The formal banking system resulting in dismantling the power of the Central Bank as the forex regulator. The country's tourism sector represented over one-tenth of the GDP of Sri Lanka. The sector was negatively affected by the 2019 Easter bombings , and the COVID-19 pandemic prevented recovery. Tourism earned Sri Lanka $ 4.4 billion and contributed 5.6% to GDP in 2018, but this dropped to just 0.8% in 2020. In
8400-433: The former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera who noted that as the Sri Lankan government already had far less tax revenue relative to most countries which combined with its high debt load tax cuts would be dangerous. Samaraweera predicted that "If these proposals are implemented like this not only will the entire country go bankrupt, but the entire country will become another Venezuela or another Greece." On 6 April 2022,
8512-488: The fuel shortage. In order to conserve energy, daily power cuts have been imposed by the authorities throughout the country. On 22 March 2022, the government ordered the military to post soldiers at various gas and fuel filling stations to curb the tensions among people who line up in queues and to ease the fuel distribution. Casualties include four fatalities due to fatigue and violence. Daily seven hour power cuts were seen throughout March 2022, increased to 10 hours at
8624-432: The government of Sri Lanka. The president would receive letter of credence from foreign ambassadors. The president may appoint provincial governors to head the provincial council and serve as their representative in the province. The president may also appoint any number of advisers as presidential advisers and coordinate secretaries to assist them. The president has the power to appoint senior attorneys-at-law to
8736-799: The government to postpone the ISB payment in order to preserve the foreign reserves. On 12 April 2022, Sri Lanka announced that it will be defaulting on its external debt of $ 51 billion. Numerous observers have described the loans made to Sri Lanka by the Exim Bank of China to build the Hambantota International Port and the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport , which turned out to be unprofitable white elephants , as examples of debt-trap diplomacy and predatory lending . China
8848-413: The hospitality sector. Further political turmoil in 2018 worsened the economic outlook. By that time the government had carried out several reforms under an IMF supported program towards fiscal monetary consolidation and had successfully controlled inflation. These reforms included an automatic fuel pricing formula which significantly reduced fiscal risks posed by state-owned enterprises (SOEs), raised
8960-506: The hot climate. The World Health Organization also doubted that chemical fertilizer use was a major cause of kidney disease. The banning of chemical fertilizers and pesticides produced a severe economic crisis, with severe privation of income and food. In November 2021, following weeks of protests over rising food prices, Sri Lanka abandoned its plan to become the world's first organic farming nation. The government cancelled some measures, including importation of 44,000 tons of urea under
9072-543: The individual. A widow of a former president would receive a monthly pension which the former president was entitled to drawn from the Consolidated Fund. As per the Presidents’ Entitlements Act No. 4 of 1986 , a former president or the widow of a former president is entitled to an official residence. A former president is entitled to a monthly secretarial allowance equal to the current salary of
9184-461: The interests rates doubled, to approximately 10 percent for short-term loans, while long-term rates had jumped from 7 to 8 percent to 11–13 percent. Failure to defend their currency, further shrank Sri Lanka's foreign reserves to only $ 6 billion by 2016. In 2020, S&P Global Ratings said Sri Lanka's existing funding sources did not appear sufficient to cover its debt servicing needs, estimated at just over $ 4.0 billion in 2021. According to
9296-607: The island of Ceylon came under British rule . During the career of Christopher Reynolds as a Sinhalese lecturer at the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London , he extensively researched the Sinhalese language and its pre-1815 literature. The Sri Lankan government awarded him the Sri Lanka Ranjana medal for his work. He wrote the 377-page An anthology of Sinhalese literature up to 1815 , selected by
9408-418: The key provisions in 21st Amendment is disqualifying dual-citizens from contesting in elections in Sri Lanka . The article 31 Constitution of Sri Lanka sets the following qualifications for holding the presidency: The president is elected to office in a presidential election held nationwide for a five-year term. An elected president can serve for a maximum of two terms, with each term taking effect from
9520-518: The major sources of the country's financial distress, and Bräutigam said that Sri Lanka did not default on any loans to China. Colombo had originally arranged a bailout from the IMF, but decided to raise the required funds by leasing the under-performing Hambantota Port to an experienced company as the Canadian feasibility study had recommended. Asanga Abeyagoonasekera , a Sri Lankan academic warned of
9632-453: The money was used to fund vanity projects rather than projects of national utility. Sri Lanka's foreign debt increased substantially, going from US$ 11.3 billion in 2005 to $ 56.3 billion in 2020. While foreign debt was about 42% of the GDP in 2019, it rose to 119% of its GDP in 2021. By February 2022, the country had only $ 2.31 billion left in its reserves, yet faces debt repayments of around $ 4 billion in 2022, which also includes
9744-404: The perimeter security of the presidential residence, Temple Trees . 5th Regiment Sri Lanka Armored Corps was the first army unit chosen to be in the dedicated security of the president of Sri Lanka during the presidency of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga . However, in April 2015, President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the President's Guard. Currently the president's security is provided by
9856-599: The port, and its study concluded in 2003 that construction of a port at Hambantota was feasible. A second feasibility report, concluded in 2006 by the Danish engineering firm Ramboll , reached a similar conclusion. According to Bräutigam, the port in Hambantota had to secure only a fraction of the cargo which went through Singapore to justify its existence. Bräutigam was told by several Sri Lanka Central Bank governors that Hambantota (and Chinese finance in general) were not
9968-529: The position is vacant after Dissanayake took office in 2024. The president may appoint any number of coordinating secretaries to assist him/her. The president is the chair of the Board of Governors of the President's Fund which was established under the President's Fund Act No. 7 of 1978 to provide funds for relief of poverty, access to special healthcare, advancement of education or knowledge, advancement of
10080-405: The position of President's Counsel . The president may appoint officers from the armed forces to serve as their aide-de-camp as well as extra-aide-de-camp. Additionally, the president may appoint medical officers of the armed forces as Honorary Physician to the President and Honorary Surgeon to the President. The president receives a monthly salary (as of 2016) of LKR 100,000 (≈ $ 1,000) paid from
10192-675: The president uses the presidential state car , which is an armored black Mercedes-Benz S-Class (S600) Pullman Guard. For Domestic air travel, helicopters from the No. 4 (VVIP/VIP) Helicopter Squadron of the Sri Lanka Air Force are used. For foreign travel, Special or Regular Flights of the Sri Lankan Airlines are used. During ceremonial occasions, ships and boats of the Sri Lanka Navy have been commissioned as
10304-466: The presidential flag. The 'Attaché Case', Presidential Dispatch Bag carries important and secret documents wherever president is traveling. This was specifically designed by Sri Lanka Army . President will hand over the Dispatch Bag from one President to the next in line. The Presidential Secretariat is the government ministry that functions as the office and staff of the president, supporting
10416-512: The prime minister. In 1978, the second amendment to the Constitution replaced the Westminster system with a more semi-presidential system . The presidency became an executive post based closely on the French model , and was now both head of state and head of government, with a longer term and independent from Parliament . The president was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, head of
10528-457: The project to state-owned China Merchants Port on a 99-year lease for cash. The $ 1.12 billion lease to the Chinese company was used by Sri Lanka to address balance-of-payment issues. Debt-trap diplomacy is considered "a severe concern to developing countries like Sri Lanka" by the Institute for Security and Development Policy. Both the U.S. Trump and Biden administrations described the occurrence of Chinese debt-trap diplomacy, especially in
10640-457: The religion and culture, providing awards to persons who have served the nation and for any other purposes beneficial or of interest to the public. It is administered by the Presidential Secretariat. Under the Constitution of Sri Lanka, a former president will be granted a pension equal to the last pay drawn while in office drawn from the Consolidated Fund. This pension would be in addition to any other pension to which any prior service will entitle
10752-467: The rescue line of credit. The government has proposed peacetime rationing of essential goods. On 29 May 2022, the government forecasted that the Yala season harvest would fall to 50% of normal, and that it would be unable to provide fertilizer to raise the yield, while rice stocks in the country would only last until September. The repercussions of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine further battered
10864-423: The right to call an early Presidential election and will hold the office till expiration of the term of his Predecessor. Duties of the president as described in the constitution are to: Presidents have little constraints on their power. The president shall be responsible to Parliament and can be impeached and removed by a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The president may declare war and peace. They can place
10976-464: The scientific and farming communities about the possible collapse of farming, including a financial crisis due to the loss of foreign exchange earnings from tea exports. Claims by the government to justify the transition to organic agriculture were compared to Lysenkoism by critics. Anuruddha Padeniya, a member of the Presidential organic farming task force, quoted the ancient writer Pliny
11088-533: The shortage of aviation fuel , the country's flag carrier SriLankan Airlines have to make refuelling stopovers for its long-haul flights along with other international airlines flying to and from Sri Lanka, at airports in the Indian cities of Chennai , Kochi and Trivandrum . The Civil Aviation Authority in Sri Lanka has also published an advisory, requesting all international airlines to carry extra fuel while flying into Sri Lanka. As of February 2022 inflation
11200-435: The staggering Sri Lankan economy, as Russia was the second largest market for Sri Lanka in tea exports , and Sri Lanka's tourism sector relied heavily on Russian and Ukrainian guests. The war halted Sri Lanka's economic recovery, with both tea and tourism sectors hard hit. On 13 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia is accountable for the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, accusing Russia of creating
11312-516: The tenure of office and acts carried out during this period. The official residence of the president in Colombo is the President's House (formerly the Queen's House as the residence of the governor-general). The government pays for meals and staff. Other presidential residences include: In recent years from time to time Prime Minister's House , commonly referred to as Temple Trees , which has been
11424-492: The traditional throne speech delivered by the president to the parliament outlining the official policy statement of the new government to the parliament. The president would lead the independence day celebrations as well as other national ceremonies such as remembrance day , Wap Magul (ceremonial ploughing) and receive the Perahera Sandeshaya . National honours would be awarded by the president on behalf of
11536-464: The traditional residence of the prime minister since 1948, has been used by some presidents such as Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa . Other presidents, such as Jayewardene and Sirisena , have refused to use the President's House, with the former preferring to stay at his personal residence in Braemar , and the latter at his former ministerial residence at Wijayarama Mawatha. For ground travel,
11648-544: The unexpired period of the term of office of the President vacating office. Until the election of a successor, the powers and functions of the office of the President will discharged by the Prime Minister in his capacity as Acting president ." Throughout the history, Office of the President has fallen vacant two times; first in 1993, after the Assassination of then President Premadasa and again in 2022, after
11760-609: The winner of the 2024 presidential election . Under the Soulbury Constitution which consisted of the Ceylon Independence Act of 1947 and The Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders in Council 1947, Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was known then) became a constitutional monarchy with a Westminster parliamentary form of government. The monarch of Ceylon served as the head of state , represented by
11872-439: Was elected president by the parliament. In October 2022, the 21st Constitutional Amendment was introduced as plan to empower the parliament over the executive president and curbs some of the powers of the president. Under the 21st Amendment, the President, Cabinet of Ministers and National Council are all held accountable to the parliament. Fifteen Committees and Oversight Committees are also accountable to parliament. One of
11984-399: Was 17.5%. The year on year increase inflation for food was 24.7% while non-food items saw an 11% rate. The year on year change (Feb 2021 to Feb 2022) for local red chilis increased by 60%, local potatoes by 74.8% and Nadu rice by 64%. In March 2022, several schools in Sri Lanka announced that their term/mid-year examinations would be postponed indefinitely, due to paper shortages throughout
12096-573: Was aware of the loss of revenue but considered it an "investment" and had no plans of increasing taxes for another 5 years. To cover government spending, the Central Bank began printing money in record amounts ignoring advice from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stop printing money and instead hike interest rates and raise taxes while cutting spending. The IMF warned that continuing to print money would lead to an economic implosion. The tax cuts were also opposed by
12208-496: Was due to be paid by the government in July 2022. Bloomberg reported that Sri Lanka had a total of $ 8.6 billion in repayments due in 2022, including both local debt and foreign debt. In April 2022, the Sri Lankan government announced that it was defaulting, making it the first sovereign default in Sri Lankan history since its independence in 1948 and the first state in the Asia-Pacific region to enter sovereign default in
12320-503: Was facilitated by Western lending and monetary policy". Their research pointed that after 2008, western central banks had favored a monetary policy of quantitative easing, which created low global interest rates, and had largely facilitated Rajapaksa's borrowing-and-spending spree as he borrowed low interest ISBs heavily. However the winding-down of quantitative easing in the US after 2013, had later sharply increased Sri Lanka's borrowing costs, and
12432-556: Was forced to enter a 99-year lease with a Chinese company because of a failure to pay the project's debts, stating that the project is commercially viable and is transforming Sri Lanka's overall port infrastructure. Deborah Bräutigam has disputed the usage of the term "debt-trap diplomacy". She said that the Canadian International Development Agency financed the Canadian engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin 's feasibility study for
12544-520: Was officially 10% of the total debt by April 2021, some officials said that China's total lending was much higher after taking into account loans to state-owned enterprises and the central bank. Local newspapers have published cartoons of Sri Lanka pleading for cash from neighboring SAARC countries. Indian observers have noted that the Colombo Port project with China has accelerated the country's debt crisis. According to Chinese state media, it
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