It is the responsibility of any democratic government to satisfy the needs of its

citizens. In the process of fulfillment of this, various organs have been established to
undertake the functions of the government. The governmental powers has been
decentralized administratively & politically, to various bodies at various established levels.
The Legislature, Executive & Judiciary have the mostly been the pillars that strive to keep
up the government alive. These are the central governments administrative segments.
For the purposes of this essay the Executive powers will be analyzed as provided for
by the constitution of Sri Lanka. J.R.Jayewardena`s constitution of 1978 introduced the
executive presidency. He had mentioned that he intended this change in his election
campaigning & sought election victory to implement the radical change. The Previous
Constitutions made the President ceremonial & all powers vested to the Prime Minister as he
had the majority in the Parliament. He thus proposed a system so that the President will be
directly elected by the people & he will exercise the executive powers of the state. He took
pieces from the American & French systems to form the Sri Lankan Executive Presidency
system. He had in his mind that the executive would not be criticized by the members of his
own party if they were hoping to join it & he could win over the members of other parties by
offering them executive positions. He perfectly planned his foundations to have a long rule of
his say in Sri Lanka.
The Executive consists of the Executive President & the Cabinet of Ministers in Sri
Lanka. Its function in simple is to enforce the laws.
A bit more expanded elaboration of its functions can be said as
Administration of Public Service.
National Security
Control of Public finance
Foreign Affairs
Appointments/removal of hierarchy of the judiciary
Directives & orders
Certain Legislative functions
Thus the governing authority of the rules, regulations & policies of the government is
called Executive. The executive president is the leader of the Executive branch.
According to Article 30(1) of the 1978 Constitution the executive President is
The President of the Republic of Sri Lanka is the Leader of the state, Leader of
the government and the Leader of the forces.

1
The writer is current reading his degree in law & views expressed herein are not intended to cause hatred nor
are they politically motivated. Reader discretion is advised.

This article attributes the 3 main powers, which are
Leader of the State,
Leader of the Government &
Leader of the forces.
The following powers are diversified into performing all functions of the executive that have
arisen from these 3 powers. The subsequent authoritative powers & functions of the
President is contained in A.33 & 34 of the Constitution.
(1) Holds the power to deliver the statement of government policy to the parliament opening
session (for a new tenure)
(2) Holds the power to chair the inaugural session of the Parliament.
(3) Has been awarded the authority to appoint Ambassadors, High Commissioners and other
High officials and delegation of power to them.
(4) To protect & keep the Public Seal of the Republic and to make and execute under the
Public Seal.
(5) To appoint Prime Minister, other Cabinet Ministers, Chief Justice and other Judges.
(6) To declare war and peace.
(7) To practice international law, customs and conventions according to the Constitution.
(8) Grant pardon, grant any respite, substitute a less severe form of punishment for any
punishment and remit the whole or any part of any punishment imposed.
The President in addition will exercise powers over parliamentary affairs. He can
attend, address & send messages to the Parliament. Although he is not a Minister of the
Parliament, he has all parliamentary privileges of a minister, other than the power to vote.
The President is empowered to appoint the Chief Secretary of the Parliament.
2
Other than to
this the President has the authority to dissolve the Parliament, but he cannot do so in the
instances where, the dissolution is to be carried within one year after the election of the
Parliament , when an impeachment(of him) is being tabled to the Parliament or on the
Parliaments` rejection of the statement of government policy at the commencement of the
first session of Parliament after General Election. He is also empowered to make emergency
regulations. The 18
th
amendment at least by text brought more accountability of the
President to the Parliament, by stating that the President shall attend Parliament every three
months. In reality, there is no one to question if he refrains . And he hasnt adhered to this
piece of amendment to the constitution.
Firstly, the provision in the 18th Amendment which states that the President shall
attend Parliament once in every three months does not essentially suggest that the
President will be more accountable to Parliament or the people. One still does not know
what the President ought to do after attending Parliament. It is said that he has the right to
address and send messages to Parliament. But then, will he exercise that right? What if he
decides to simply attend Parliament, and watch parliamentary proceedings where his

2
However, the 17
th
amendment to the constitution requires the approval of the constitutional council for this.
message will be read out by the Prime Minister? If real accountability was to be ensured, he
should actively engage in parliamentary proceedings and be involved in some form of active
debate and discussion. The 18th Amendment does not do this.
3

The President also exercises certain authority over the judiciary in forgiving a victim
fully or under conditions, one recent example can be taken from former army chief Sarath
Fonseka being conditionally pardoned with civic disability of refraining from voting or
contesting in elections for seven years from his release in May, 2012.
4
A President can also
postpone a punishment, reduce the punishment & stop a punishment of any victim who has
been convicted by the courts. The President can forgive an MP from a verdict of the
Supreme court, who has breached the law.
As general functions being the head of the state, he represents Sri Lanka as its
leader globally. He invites heads of other states to pay official visits to his country. He enters
into international treaties & pacts on behalf of the nation. Appoint eminent persons of the
legal profession as Presidents Counsel(an award of honor). Enforce a curfew. To administer
the functions of the Police, instruct the Attorney General to represent the government & look
into matters. Make various appointments.
In fact the 17
th
(2001) amendment was introduced to curtail the powers the boundless
powers of the executive presidency. It should be agreed the system did have issues in
performance , because if the members who are to be nominated by the respective persons
given the authority do not do so , the council remains unestablished. But the government of
today criticized the move an sought to bring the 18
th
(2010) amendment saying that the 17
th

amendment was not practical & there were conflicts in the appointments, due to a reason the
constitutional council remained unappointed. The 18
th
Amendment took away the powers of
the Constitutional Council & the main purpose of the 17
th
amendment was thus destroyed.
In return it introduced a Parliamentary Council which is less powerful that the former & was
not at all curtailing the powers of the president. The difference in power can be clearly seen:
under the 17
th
amendment the president could only make appointments on the
recommendation of the Constitutional Council
5
or else if the appointments were approved by
the Constitutional Council.
6
But the 18
th
amendment gave absolute power to the president
over some key posts appointments as Chief Justice, the Attorney General, the Inspector
General of Police etcThe Parliamentary council established to do more justice to the
Constitutional Council of the 17
th
amendment in terms of executive appointments made it
less dilute, the Parliamentary council has no power of approval or veto over appointments, it
is only required to give observations. No provision in the amendment is made to say that if
the same is not followed, the appointments are void. In other instances, the President
7
has
been automatically granted the option & is at a clear advantage of being able to ensure that
3 of the 5 members of the new Parliamentary Council are from the Government or its main
political party (i.e. the Speaker, the Prime Minister, and the nominee of the Prime Minister).
Hence there is an eminent risk of a worth less council if the main positions of the

3
http://groundviews.org/2011/06/11/months-after-the-18th-amendment-is-the-executive-really-more-
accountable-to-parliament/
4
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/fonseka-released-with-strings-attached/article3442726.ece
5
as per Article 41B, according to the posts listed in the Schedule under 41B
6
as per Article 41C
7
Hon. Mahinda Rajapakshe, current President in office during the 18
th
amendment. And had the first taste of
the Parliamentary council from the January 1, 2011.
government are held by the same political party. So it is quite clear that under the guise
introducing a Council of workability, the present regime has brought of course a workable
mechanism but which does not address the reduction of Presidential powers and the
strengthening of independent institutions.
The President as the Executive head of the state has to appoint the Prime Minister, who in
his opinion is most likely to command the confidence of the parliament not the person who
commands the confidence of the Parliament. This allows the President discretion when there
is doubt regarding the interpretation of the provision. The Ministers of the Cabinet are
appointed by him & he has power to change portfolios , The President has anyway absolute
discretion, subject to the provisions in the constitution that he may consult the Prime minster
only if he thinks necessary, this tells that if the Prime Minister is not of the same Political
Party the requirement of consultation with the Prime Minister is most essential. The
Executive head will rule the state service & administer the state policies. He will also make
the appointments of the high officials of the state service.
As the leader of the government the President will be the Leader of the Cabinet, decree the
government policies & keep any number of ministries under his supervision.
As the leader of the forces , he acts as the Commander in-chief of the armed forces in Sri
Lanka. He makes appointments to the higher officers & their promotions granted under his
signature. It has been the practice of the so far elected executive presidents to hold the
portfolio of defense under them (unto few exceptions) the chief of defense staff of the Joint
operation command will directly under the President. And the subordinate heads of the
respective forces, the Army, Navy & Air force will follow the line of command. The Secretary
of Defense is also under appointment of the President , like other secretaries of ministries.
Using this tool the President quite fruitfully , ignoring all international pressures, swiped out
the LTTE terror from this country. He deserves full credit & it is also a well-established
reason that the extensive powers granted to him by the Executive Presidency ,was used by
him to the fullest to bring an end to this 3 decade conflict.
President Mahinda Rajpakse falls into a special category as he was the President who took
over the office with the determination to eliminate terrorism, and succeeded in doing so. He
had to take many decisions without going through Parliamentary and Administrative
procedures, and for that the executive powers were useful.
8
But he never used those
executive powers of his office for the detriment of the Country, or cause hardship to the
people who elected him, but we have to admit that he has used it to strengthen his & the
Family`s political presence. At times to curtail extra enthusiastic journalists, who seek to
tarnish the country`s image.
Corruption is nothing new to Sri Lanka politics & it is no sooner that ,it can be wiped out to
ensure pure democracy. The governments in the past were corrupt & is nothing to plunder
about that the current government is under corruption. It will be long before this preferential
representation system is altered , that the ways to curtail corruption can be thought of. And
until the greed for power is mixed in the blood of Sri Lankan politicians, corruption is sure
not to depart. Mostly the politicians indulge in corruption, to regain the money that they pool
in to their election campaign, to overcome the technicalities of the election system. This

8
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2014/04/23/mahinda-rajapakse-and-executive-
presidency/comment-page-1
proposition may not be true with every politician, but in most cases. Politics has increasingly
become a good source to earn a better income for many. However the entire blame of these
cannot be put in the executive powers & privileges, but have to be shared by the close
associates to the executive, who encourage such acts. In fact corruption has increased from
2012 to the end of 2013 a survey finds. Placing Sri Lanka 91
st
from the 177 countries & this
is 12 places lower than where it was in 2012 in 79
th
position.
9
It has to be accepted that the
developments that have been achieved by this government has at least reached beyond the
achievements of other, this can be seen as a positive move comparing to the previous
governments that have been in place. A trend of corruption increasing as the country moves
towards faster development, cannot be practically avoided, with respect to the prevailing
system.
Like finding the black patches , it also has to be noted of the conscious use of the executive
by the presidents (at least few if not all)
President Mahinda Rajapakse could have used executive powers of his Presidency in
numerous occasion for instance in the application of the 6
th
Amendment though he had
refrained from doing so. He had shown that he would use executive powers when
necessary for the benefit of the country, but not to impose the privilege of his office. After
elimination of terrorism the President Mahinda Rajapakse has continued the development
process of the country which had been neglected for nearly three decades. He had to face
obstructions not only from those within the country, but from those outside as well.
10

The current powers gave President Mahinda Rajapakse as an executive President to act
expeditiously to protect the Nation, that a traditional Parliamentary system as in Britain that
can be toppled by a simple no-confidence motion, cannot do effectively. The Presidential
System of the United States, for example, despite all of its warts, is distinguished by its
unique ability to act fast in defense of the nation, in contrast to that of Britain which would
engage in interminable Parliamentary debates before it can summon the will to act. Sri
Lanka, threatened by an array of powerful external and internal enemies, large and small,
cannot afford to have a weak form of government that can be easily destabilized and
undermined on the one hand, and is unable to quickly defend the Nation on the other.
The 1978 constitution also introduced the referendum system, and put it at the hands of the
executive president to use it where necessary, unto the instances stated in the constitution
itself. This device bestowed considerable power in the President, as he could place any
matter before the people for its approval, may it be a rejected Bill of Parliament or whatever
he feels important to seek a mandate. Unfortunately it has only been used once ever since it
was introduced, that too not for the right purpose one would say.
11
The Referendum is an
ultra-democratic device granted to a President.
Via the 18
th
amendment another more convincing power is granted to the President. Now a
President can contest countless number of times for the Presidency. This has given a huge
hold on to a functioning President, to keep his political desires alive. It may benefit if there is
reasons on ongoing developments. But generally it sounds so undemocratic to hear. What a

9
http://www.tisrilanka.org/?p=11665
10
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2014/04/23/mahinda-rajapakse-and-executive-
presidency/comment-page-1
11
During the period of President J.R. Jayawardene(UNP) on the 22 Dec.1982 a National Referendum to extend
the current parliament(UNP) term by another 6 years without a general election
President cant achieve in two, 6 year terms, Would he be able to do it in the years to come
is a question that every power hungry President should ask for himself.
Thus many are now calling for the removal of the executive presidency as the country has
seen more crisis at its hands , that a few betterment in governance. The 18th Amendment
will fundamentally transform Sri Lankas political system, stripping away the faade of
democracy. The 18
th
amendment is what many speak of today that , has to be the reason
for another future amendment to the constitution & reaffirm a better democracy in Sri Lanka.
The 18th Amendment will end presidential term limits, eliminate the Constitutional Council,
increase the Executives control over appointments, and give the President the power to
regularly attend and address Parliament. Its effect will be to remove vital checks on
Executive power and further undermine Sri Lankas imperfect democracy.
12

A nation can be ruined by political power in one person. When can remain in power
indefinitely he will interfere with other parts of the state apparatus: the Attorney General's
Department, the courts, the police, the public service and all other components of power. A
presidential time limit is critical to a democratic rule. And the Presidents in power, having
taken the right in their hands to trickily make key appoints as the Prime Minister, Speaker &
Chief Justice at his peril have been most adverse effects of this executive rule. The power is
overwhelmingly and becomes concentrated in one person ,one family ore one party over a
lifetime. This reduces the creativity in the opposition, they weaken and fragment. Thus a
good opposition which is a need for a good democracy is not demonstrated.
The appoints at the executive ,which play a substantial role is what is expected of these
appointments has far-reaching changes in the appointment process it will affect agencies
and actors responsible for essential human rights infrastructure and the provision of basic
services and have the potential to destabilize or interrupt services.
All those components that deliver services to the public suffer when one person has
unlimited power through unlimited time in office. So powers of the executive President shall
be drastically reduced , to ensure a democracy.
The democracy is not something that can be produced or exportable. It is something that
has to be constantly safeguarded & nurtured by the country itself. There is no formula to
produce a perfectly designed democracy . All that can be done is to plant the seeds of
democracy in the minds of the people.
13

It cannot be thought that the minds of the people would have hoped for a unlimited rule ,
when the cast their vote , to elect the representatives to the democracy or a leader to it. In a
democratic government both , the election of the rulers & delegation of power to rulers are
done by the people. Has it been effectively carried out, is a question left for the people of Sri
Lanka.



12
http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/journals-magazines/article2/0903/the-last-debate-on-the-sri-
lankan-constitution
13
UNESCO Conference, 2001 July, Seoul, South Korea