Warning of an unprecedented battle against any move to postpone the Presidential Election to be held next year, Opposition Parliamentarian, Prof. G.L. Peiris said that they would not hesitate to go before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against any such preparation.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday (18), he, in response to a statement made by United National Party (UNP) MP, Wajira Abeywardana said that there would be no funds to import essential commodities if monetary allocations are made to hold the Presidential Election next year, said that there is no room for the Presidential Election to be postponed, and that the Opposition would not allow such a move.

“If the Presidential Election is not held on the advice of Abeywardana, the President will not be a legitimate President after October 2024, and he will instead be a completely illegal and unconstitutional President. None of the powers assigned to the Presidency can be exercised in such an event. Such a President cannot issue orders to the tri-forces and the Police and ensure national security, appoint diplomatic officials, Provincial Governors, and deal with any foreign country.” In addition, he said that a Government led by such a President would not be able to collect taxes from the people. “The people are not obliged to pay taxes to an illegitimate Government. So, how will the Government procure money for Government expenditure? We all know that Sri Lanka has signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). If the Presidential Election is not held, we cannot deal with the IMF. They are not bound to deal with an illegitimate Government.” Speaking further, Prof. Peiris said that the Opposition would not allow any move to ignore the Constitution and postpone the Presidential Election on the advice of Abeywardana. “If the Constitution is kicked and a dictatorial state is going to be created, we will not allow it. We will launch a never before seen battle to defeat it. Not only within the country, we will reach out to the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and even the International Court of Justice (ICJ), if necessary. If there is even a small thought in someone’s mind to postpone this Election, we would like to ask them to forget it,” he added.