Asanga welikala biography for kids
Author: Asanga Welikala
Abolition of the Executive Presidency: A Voters’ Policy Guide to the Presidential Election
What is the executive presidential system under the Constitution? A President directly elected for a fixed term is the Head of State and the Head of Government who exercises the executive
Nonsense Upon Stilts? Revisiting Justifications of Presidentialism In Sri Lanka
With the enactment of the Twentieth Amendment, Sri Lanka embarks yet again down the fraught path of authoritarian presidentialism. Whether this latest adventure ends in a democratic nightmare, or is as fleeting
Some Reflections on the Twentieth Amendment Bill
As the Twentieth Amendment Bill is brought before Parliament – and challenged in the Supreme Court – there are two critical sets of questions we need to seriously consider. These are, firstly,
The Past and the Present in the (Re)Constitution of the State
By Asanga Welikala and Roshan de Silva-Wijeyeratne The election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in November marked the beginning of a new era of a Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist ascendancy in Sri Lanka. The
The Coming Constitution of the Civilization-State
The governing party’s general election campaign is centred on obtaining a two-thirds majority in the next Parliament. It is expected that the governing party will fulfil its wish – if not directly,
DEAD OR TRANQUILISED? THE RECALL OF DISSOLVED PARLIAMENTS
Photo courtesy The COVID crisis took hold in Sri Lanka at a time when Parliament stood dissolved ahead of a general election. The gravity of the public health emergency, and what it
Averting a Second Coup Attempt?: The Constitutional Principles Governing the Relationship Between The President and the Cabinet
President Sirisena is evidently unhappy that a Select Committee of Parliament has been appointed to investigate the circumstances that led to the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. UPFA MPs have not joined the
Was The Sri Lankan Law Adequate For Dealing With The Easter Bombers Before They Attacked?
The Prime Minister has gone on record with the international media saying that, even though Sri Lankan authorities were aware of Sri Lankan jihadists who had returned from Syria who might be
The Constitutional Implications of the Easter Sunday Terror Attack
Sri Lanka experienced its worst terrorist attack since the end of the war on 21 April The country is still reeling from the scale and lethality of the multiple explosions, and
THE JUSTICIABILITY OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTS
In a week of high-stakes litigation in the two highest courts in the land, a key question in the public discussion over the continuing constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka has focused on
THE COUP DE GRACE ON THE COUP D’ETAT?
Since 26 October, virtually every gambit and calculation of the instigators of the Sri Lankan constitutional coup have failed. Initially, they relied on the element of surprise to cover up the illegality
The Dissolution of Parliament in the Constitution of Sri Lanka
Further exacerbating the constitutional crisis that he precipitated a fortnight ago, President Sirisena issued a proclamation purporting to dissolve Parliament on 9thNovember Having prorogued Parliament and then lost the gamble to
Nailing Canards: Why President Sirisenas Actions Remain Illegal, Unconstitutional, And Illegitimate
There have been intense public debates over the meaning and interpretation of the Constitution, and especially the far-reaching changes introduced by the Nineteenth Amendment in , since the dramatic and ongoing attempt
Paradise Lost? Preliminary Notes on a Constitutional Coup
There were three dramatic announcements on the evening of Friday 26th October from the Presidential Secretariat, which occurred in the following order: (a) the announcement of the withdrawal of the UPFA from
The Legality and Legitimacy of Presidential Term Limits: A Response to Dr Nihal Jayawickrama
There has recently been a flurry of comment and speculation about whether, due to a technical flaw in the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution (), former President Rajapaksa may actually be eligible