Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a presidential election was due in 2005, handing a victory to the foes of outgoing President Chandrika Kumaratunga.Kumaratunga, first elected to power in 1994, went for re-election to a six-year term a year early in 1999. She claimed she could stay in office for another year since she had called the last election early. A bitter political squabble with her opponents drove the issue into the courts.‘‘According to the constitution, and the interpretations heard earlier. I hold the President’s second term in office commenced on December 22, 1999, and will end six years from that date,’’ Chief Justice Sarath N Silva said.Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake said an election would be held this year, saying it was ‘‘dead sure’’, although he was not ready to announce poll dates at present. Analysts said the poll would likely be held in November.Kumaratunga’s opponents celebrated the court’s decision. ‘‘All attempts by the executive President to hang onto power have been defeated,’’ said Buddhist monk and MP, the Venerable Athuraliye Rathana Thero, parliamentary group leader for the all-monk party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), which filed the fundamental rights application the court ruled on.Sri Lanka’s main parties—including Kumaratunga’s—had hedged their bets and were already in full campaign mode before the ruling. Billboards on roads from Colombo to the ancient hill capital of Kandy are now plastered with party slogans and candidates’ pictures. —Reuters
