COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s top court found President Ranil Wickremesinghe guilty of “unlawful conduct” on Thursday for indefinitely delaying local polls seen as an unofficial referendum on his handling of the economy.

Since Wickremesinghe enjoys immunity while in office, the judgement carries no immediate legal consequences, but the state of the economy is expected to be a key issue for voters in presidential elections next month.

Because the March 2023 local polls were postponed, the Sept 21 presidential election will now be the first vote since Wickremesinghe took over two years ago. He took office after protesters furious at an unprecedented financial crisis toppled strongman president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022.

Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking re-election for a five-year term next month, and faces a daunting challenge from rival candidates. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya on Thursday unanimously held that Wickremesinghe failed to release money to conduct the local government elections in March 2023.

Wickremesinghe’s administration said the money in state coffers was needed to pay public servants and pensions, despite a previous court order to finance the vote. The court said Wickremesinghe’s “arbitrary and unlawful conduct” in preventing the local polls had resulted in the infringement of constitutional rights.

Addressing his supporters just outside Colombo on Thursday, Wickremesinghe said he was “not sorry” for postponing the local council elections last year while the economy was still struggling.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2024