There is no need for a referendum to postpone the presidential election by a year because of Article 83 of the Constitution. *
There is no need for a referendum to postpone the presidential election by a year because of Article 83 of the Constitution. * Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna B.Sc(Col), PGDC(Col), AAL 1. The tenure of President Ranil Wickramasinghe will end in November 2024. That is by the 19th amendment of the Constitution, Because the term of office of the President was reduced from 6 to 5 years. (2015-Article 30.2) 2. According to Article 83.(b) of the Constitution, if the term of office of the President is increased to more than 6 years, a referendum must be held. But there is no need for a referendum to increase it from 5 to 6 years. For that, a constitutional amendment requires only 2/3 (150) members of Parliament in vote / favour in the Parliament. 3. By increasing the presidential term to 6 years through such a constitutional amendment, President Ranil Wickremesinghe can serve as president until November 2025. 4. It is still too early to say whether it will be a solution to the economic crisi...