Dismissing a petition challenging the validity of presidential hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Sri Lankan citizenship, Sri Lankan court clears the way for his candidacy in the November 16 presidential election.
The petitioners had sought interim relief, arguing that Mr. Rajapaksa — who resumed his Sri Lankan citizenship in 2005, three years after he became an American citizen — had obtained his documentation “fraudulently”.
Counsel for the petitioners — activists Gamini Viyangoda and Chandraguptha Thenuwara — and the respondents, including Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, principally argued over whether then newly sworn-in President Rajapaksa had the powers to sign his brother’s citizenship document — on November 21, 2005 — two days after he was sworn in, and before a Cabinet was appointed. Submissions from both sides were heard over three days and concluded on Friday. At 6 p.m., the three-judge panel unanimously ruled dismissing the petition.
