Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka ; ශ්‍රී ලංකා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ; இலங்கை பிரதமர்
	Emblem of Sri Lanka
	Flag of Sri Lanka
	Incumbent; Mahinda Rajapaksa; since 21 November 2019
Style	Mr. Prime Minister; (informal); The Honourable; (formal and diplomatic);
Member of	Cabinet; National Security Council; Parliament;
Reports to	Parliament
Residence	Temple Trees
Seat	Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte
Nominator	Parliament of Sri Lanka
Appointer	President of Sri Lanka
Term length	Five years
Constituting instrument	Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Precursor	Leader of the House, State Council of Ceylon
Inaugural holder	Don Stephen Senanayake
Formation	14 October 1947
Succession	First in the; presidential line of succession
Salary	LKR 858,000 annually (2016)[1][2]
Website	Prime Minister's Office

The Prime minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is deputy head of government of Sri Lanka and the most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers in Sri Lanka which is collectively accountable for their policies and actions to parliament.

On 21 November 2019, Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed as the prime minister for the 3rd time, following the resignation of Ranil Wickremesinghe, upon the election victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the president of Sri Lanka.

Appointment

The president will appoint a member of parliament as Prime Minister, who in the president's opinion, "is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament". The prime minister will continue to hold office throughout the period during which the cabinet of ministers continues to function under the provisions of the constitution unless he/she resigns from the post or ceases to be a member of parliament.[3]

Powers and role

Under the Soulbury Constitution the post of Prime Minister was created in 1947 as the head of government in the Westminster system. In 1978, under the second amendment to the Republican Constitution of 1972 much of the powers of the premiership was transferred to the executive presidency as head of government and head of the cabinet of ministers in addition to being the head of state. As a result, the prime minister became a senior most member cabinet of ministers and successor to the president. The prime minister would serve as the deputy to the president if both are from the same political party. In certain occasions, when the president is not from the majority party in parliament or a national government is formed, the prime minister would be appointed from a party different from the president's. In such a situations the prime minister would serve as the de facto head of government.[3] In 2015, the nineteenth amendment restored certain degree of powers to the premiership.

The prime minister is the second in the order of precedence after the president and head of the cabinet of ministers. The prime minister would be a member of the constitutional council, national security council and the most senior member of the cabinet of ministers.

Head of the cabinet of ministers

As head of the cabinet of ministers, the prime minister has the power to:

Determine the number of Cabinet ministers and ministries and assignment of subjects.
Determine the number of non-cabinet ministers and ministries and assignment of subjects.

Principal adviser to the president

By the constitution, the prime minister holds formal power to advise the president on:

Appoint, dismiss, or accept the resignation of cabinet and non-cabinet ministers.[3]
Change of subjects assigned to cabinet ministers.[3]

Presidential succession

As per the constitution, if the office of president becomes vacant, the prime minister would "act in the office of President during the period between the occurrence of such vacancy and the assumption of office by the new president and shall appoint one of the other ministers of the Cabinet to act in the office of Prime Minister". In such as situation, the office of Prime Minister is vacant or the prime minister is unable to act, the speaker shall act in the office of President.[3]

The president may appoint the prime minister to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of the office of President for a period during the president is unable to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of his office due to illness, absence from Sri Lanka or any other cause.[3]

Privileges of office

Salary

The prime minister would receive a salary (as of 2016) of LKR 800,000 annually paid from the Prime Minister's Office.

Official residence and office

The official residence of the prime minister is the Prime Minister's House most commonly referred to as Temple Trees. The prime minister has the use of the Prime Minister's Cottage as a vacationing residence in the holiday-town of Nuwara Eliya. The Prime Minister's Office is located in the Sirimathipaya on Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha (formerly known as Flower Road) in Colombo.

In recent years from time to time, Temple Trees has been by some presidents such as Kumaratunga and Rajapaksa. While certain prime ministers such as Wickremesinghe have chosen to stay at his personal residence.

Travel

For ground travel, the prime minister uses the prime ministerial 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 while for long-distance travel, regular flights of the Sri Lankan Airlines are used.

Security

Traditionally security for the prime minister has been provided by the Sri Lanka Police. After the establishment of the office of Prime Minister in 1948, a sub inspector of the Ceylon Police Force had been assigned for personal protection of the prime minister, until S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike dismissed his personal protection officer. When Bandaranaike was assassinated, only a lone police constable stood guard at the entrance of his residence. Following the Bandaranaike assassination, the successive prime ministers received a police guard headed by a sub inspector. This was supplemented by the Army's Field Security Detachment following the 1962 attempted coup d'état and during the 1971 JVP insurrection.[4] At present the Prime Minister's Security Division is in charge of security of the prime minister.

Order of precedence

In the Sri Lankan order of precedence, the prime minister is placed after the president, but before the Sspeaker of the Parliament.

History

The first Prime Minister of Ceylon with his Cabinet members

The post of Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in 1947 prior to independence from Britain and the formation of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. United National Party leader D. S. Senanayake became the first prime minister of then Ceylon in 1947 after independence. In 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic the name of the post changed to Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. With a Westminster-based political system established the prime minister was the head of government therefore held the most powerful political office of the country at the time. This changed with a constitutional change in 1978, when the executive presidency was created, making the president both head of state and head of government. Until 1978, the prime minister was also the minister of defence and external affairs. The prime minister is appointed by the president as a member of the cabinet of ministers. In the event the post president is vacant, the prime minister becomes the acting president until Parliament convenes to elect a successor or new elections could be held to elect a new president. This was the case with H.E. President Dingiri Banda Wijetunge. United National Party leaders Dudley Senanayake and Ranil Wickramasinghe together with Sri Lanka Freedom Party leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike was appointed three times to the position. With the passing of the 19th amendment to the constitution in 2015, the prime minister was granted more powers when appointing ministers and leading the cabinet.

2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis

On 26 October 2018, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed by Maithripala Sirisena as the prime minister dismissing incumbent prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. Wickremasinghe refused to accept the dismissal stating that it was unconstitutional, resulting in a constitutional crisis.

On 3 December 2018, a court issued an interim order preventing Mahinda Rajapaksha from functioning in the position.[5] On December 16, 2018, Ranil Wickramasinghe was re-appointed as Prime Minister ending the crisis.[6]

Last election

Summary of the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election[7][8][9]
Alliances and parties		Votes	%	Seats
Alliances and parties		Votes	%	District	National	Total
	Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance[lower-roman 1] Ceylon Workers' Congress Mahajana Eksath Peramuna National Congress[lower-roman 2] National Freedom Front Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Socialist Alliance Communist Party of Sri Lanka Democratic Left Front[lower-roman 3] Lanka Sama Samaja Party[lower-roman 4] National Liberation People's Party Sri Lanka People's Party Sri Lanka Freedom Party[lower-roman 5] Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna	6,853,690	59.09%	128	17	145
	Samagi Jana Balawegaya All Ceylon Makkal Congress[lower-roman 6] Jathika Hela Urumaya Sri Lanka Muslim Congress[lower-roman 7] Tamil Progressive Alliance National Union of Workers United Progressive Alliance Democratic People's Front Up-Country People's Front United National Party (Sajith wing)	2,771,980	23.90%	47	7	54
	Tamil National Alliance[lower-roman 8] Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization	327,168	2.82%	9	1	10
	National People's Power Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna	445,958	3.84%	2	1	3
	Tamil National People's Front[lower-roman 9] All Ceylon Tamil Congress	67,766	0.58%	1	1	2
	Eelam People's Democratic Party	61,464	0.53%	2	0	2
	United National Party (Ranil wing)	249,435	2.15%	0	1	1
	Our Power of People's Party Bodu Bala Sena	67,758	0.58%	0	1	1
	Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal	67,692	0.58%	1	0	1
	Sri Lanka Freedom Party[lower-roman 5]	66,579	0.57%	1	0	1
	Muslim National Alliance	55,981	0.48%	1	0	1
	Tamil People's National Alliance Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front Eelam Tamil Self Rule Party Tamil National Party Tamil People's Council	51,301	0.44%	1	0	1
	All Ceylon Makkal Congress[lower-roman 6]	43,319	0.37%	1	0	1
	National Congress[lower-roman 2]	39,272	0.34%	1	0	1
	Sri Lanka Muslim Congress[lower-roman 7]	34,428	0.30%	1	0	1
	Independents	223,622	1.93%	0	0	0
	United Peace Alliance	31,054	0.27%	0	0	0
	All Lanka Tamil Mahasabha	30,031	0.26%	0	0	0
	National Development Front	14,686	0.13%	0	0	0
	Frontline Socialist Party	14,522	0.13%	0	0	0
	Social Democratic Party of Tamils	11,464	0.10%	0	0	0
	Tamil United Liberation Front	9,855	0.08%	0	0	0
	Socialist Party of Sri Lanka	9,368	0.08%	0	0	0
	People's Welfare Front	7,361	0.06%	0	0	0
	Sinhalese National Front	5,056	0.04%	0	0	0
	New Democratic Front	4,883	0.04%	0	0	0
	United Left Front	4,879	0.04%	0	0	0
	Liberal Party of Sri Lanka	4,345	0.04%	0	0	0
	National People's Party	3,813	0.03%	0	0	0
	Democratic United National Front	3,611	0.03%	0	0	0
	National Democratic Front	3,488	0.03%	0	0	0
	Sri Lanka Labour Party	3,134	0.03%	0	0	0
	Democratic Left Front	2,964	0.03%	0	0	0
	New Sinhala Heritage	1,397	0.01%	0	0	0
	United Socialist Party	1,189	0.01%	0	0	0
	Motherland People's Party	1,087	0.01%	0	0	0
	Eelavar Democratic Front	1,035	0.01%	0	0	0
	Socialist Equality Party	780	0.01%	0	0	0
	Lanka Sama Samaja Party[lower-roman 4]	737	0.01%	0	0	0
	All Are Citizens All Are Kings Organization	632	0.01%	0	0	0
	Democratic Unity Alliance	145	0.00%	0	0	0
Valid Votes		11,598,929	100.00%	196	29	225
Rejected Votes		744,373	6.03%
Total Polled		12,343,302	75.89%
Registered Electors		16,263,885
Footnotes: The SLPFA contested under the name and symbol of SLPP. The NC contested separately in two districts (Ampara and Polonnaruwa) and with the SLPFA in other districts. The DLF contested separately in two districts (Jaffna and Vanni) and with the SLPFA in other districts. The LSSP contested separately in one district (Jaffna) and with the SLPFA in other districts. The SLFP contested separately in three districts (Jaffna, Kalutara and Nuwara Eliya) and with the SLPFA in other districts. The ACMC contested separately in one district (Ampara) and with the SJB in other districts. The SLMC contested separately in one district (Batticaloa) and with the SJB in other districts. The TNA contested under the name and symbol of ITAK. The TNPF contested under the name and symbol of ACTC.

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References

Notes

Citations

Thomas, Kris (21 November 2016). "Of Ministers' Salaries And Parliamentary Perks". Roar.lk. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
Thomas, Kavindya Chris (20 November 2016). "Do MPs get fat salaries?". Ceylontoday.lk. Ceylon Today. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
"Charge of the katakatha brigade". Retrieved 20 March 2020.
"On December 3, 2018, Sri Lanka temporarily bars Mahinda Rajapaksa from acting as PM".
"Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Prime Minister". Ada Derana. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
"2020 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Elections". Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Election Commission of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
"Parliamentary Election 2020". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
"Official Election Results Parliamentary Election - 2020 - Sri Lanka". news.lk. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Department of Government Information. Retrieved 7 August 2020.

External links

Sri Lankan Prime Minister's Office
Parliament of Sri Lanka - Handbook of Parliament, Prime Ministers

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[10] The SLPFA contested under the name and symbol of SLPP.

[NC-11] The NC contested separately in two districts (Ampara and Polonnaruwa) and with the SLPFA in other districts.

[DLF-12] The DLF contested separately in two districts (Jaffna and Vanni) and with the SLPFA in other districts.

[LSSP-13] The LSSP contested separately in one district (Jaffna) and with the SLPFA in other districts.

[SLFP-14] The SLFP contested separately in three districts (Jaffna, Kalutara and Nuwara Eliya) and with the SLPFA in other districts.

[ACMC-15] The ACMC contested separately in one district (Ampara) and with the SJB in other districts.

[SLMC-16] The SLMC contested separately in one district (Batticaloa) and with the SJB in other districts.

[17] The TNA contested under the name and symbol of ITAK.

[18] The TNPF contested under the name and symbol of ACTC.

[1] Thomas, Kris (21 November 2016). "Of Ministers' Salaries And Parliamentary Perks". Roar.lk. Retrieved 30 August 2017.

[2] Thomas, Kavindya Chris (20 November 2016). "Do MPs get fat salaries?". Ceylontoday.lk. Ceylon Today. Retrieved 30 August 2017.

[constitution-3] The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

[DN01-4] "Charge of the katakatha brigade". Retrieved 20 March 2020.

[5] "On December 3, 2018, Sri Lanka temporarily bars Mahinda Rajapaksa from acting as PM".

[adaderana.lk-6] "Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Prime Minister". Ada Derana. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.

[EC-7] "2020 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Elections". Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Election Commission of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 7 August 2020.

[DM-8] "Parliamentary Election 2020". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 7 August 2020.

[news-9] "Official Election Results Parliamentary Election - 2020 - Sri Lanka". news.lk. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Department of Government Information. Retrieved 7 August 2020.