Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe’s party suggests referendum to postpone elections for two years
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The United National Party headed by Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday suggested holding a referendum to postpone both presidential and general elections and extending the terms of both offices for two years to pursue much-needed economic reforms, a proposal that was immediately criticised by the opposition parties as unconstitutional.
The island nation's Elections Commission earlier this month said the presidential election would be conducted between September 17 and October 16.
United National Party (UNP) general secretary Palitha Range Bandara presented a proposal to postpone both the presidential and general elections by two years and emphasised that if circumstances warrant, this proposal can be formally submitted to Parliament, paving the way for a referendum,