How does Sri Lankan politics work?
The Head of State is the Executive President and is elected for a six year term. The current President is Mahinda Rajapaksa who was elected in November 2005. The country has a multi-party system and a 225 seat parliament, to which members are elected by a modified form of proportional representation. Although members of parliament are generally elected for a six year term, political volatility in the country as of late has kept the terms of recent parliaments rather short. The parliament is headed by the prime minister who represents the party which obtains the highest number of votes at a general election and there has been an instance where the president and prime minister have been from opposing sides of the political spectrum. The three main parties in the country are the People’s Alliance, which is in power at the moment, the United National Party which has held power in the past, and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna which is the third force in Sri Lankan politics.
