President exercises the power of gazette again calling for PC polls

In another unorthodox move, President Maithripala Sirisena is getting ready to issue a gazette extraordinary very soon resorting to his favourite political gamble of betraying the vast majority of people who voted for him to climb the ladder.

President Sirisena held a special discussion with the Chairman of National Election Commission and the Attorney General on the possibility of conducting provincial polls before the presidential election with a view of sticking into presidency till early next year by hook or by crook, informed sources said.

Political analysts predicted that this gazette extraordinary on provincial council polls will meet the same fate of the previous gazette extraordinary issued by him to dissolve parliament and held snap polls inducting a new Prime Minister and a new Cabinet of Ministers.

The National Election Commission informed that it is prepared to call for Provincial Council Elections disregarding the delimitation process.

The President’s intension is to conduct the provincial polls and thereafter a general election early next year after seeking the Supreme Court's opinion on his term in high office.

According to Article 31(3) of the Constitution, the President election has to be held not less than one month, and not more than two months before the expiration of the term of office of the President in office.

According to this constitutional requirement, the last day by which the presidential poll will have to be held, is the 9th December 2019 because President Maithripala Sirisena’s term in office ends on 9 January 2020.

Be that as it may, the current likelihood is that the PC elections will be even more disadvantageous to the SLFP and (to a lesser extent) to the UNP as well.

This will compel the President to seek refuge in the Rajapaksa camp (SLPP) with his SLFP leftovers compromising his high office for an alliance between the SLFP and SLPP otherwise his dream of sticking into power will vanish in thin air.

President now has only five full months in office before the last date by which a presidential election should be held and a new president declared elected.