Supreme Court dismisses Sarath Fonseka’s petition

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 October 2010, 10:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Friday dismissed the election petition filed by Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka challenging the re-election of the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the presidential election held on January 26 this year, without trial. The five-member bench comprising Chief Justice Asoka de Silva and Justices Shirani Bandaranaike, K. Sripavan, P. A. Ratnayake and S. I. Imam upheld the preliminary objection raised by the respondents including Mahinda Rajapaksa and decided not to hear the petition as the petitioner had not been able to name the respondents in proper.

The five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice was unanimous in their decision and held the petitioner had not been able to name the respondents in proper.

Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka had filed this petition complaining that the presidential election held on January 26 was not free and fair and that citizens of Sri Lanka were not free to elect the candidate of their choice as president.

He had complained that the re-election of incumbent president Mahinda Rajapakse was unlawful and had asked the fuller bench of the Supreme Court to order the Elections Commissioner and his staff to re-count the ballots cast at the presidential election and to recount it in the presence of the petitioner and the other 21 candidates or their authorized representatives.

However, counsel for President Mahinda Rajapaksa had made a preliminary objection to the petition and asked that it be dismissed without hearing in detail.

Counsel for the president and the other respondents raised their objections on basis that the pleadings in the petition are misconceived in law and all charges made by petitioner Fonseka failed due to total omission of full particulars regarding the allegations leveled against the respondents.

Counsel for other respondents also asked that the petition be dismissed without a hearing.

Subsequently, objecting to the response of respondents, Sarath Fonseka had stated that he had provided more than the required material facts to prove that the last Presidential Election was illegal and that there was intimidation and rigging.