Omalpe Sobhita Thero v Dayananda Dissanayake and Another – sllr 2008 volume 2 page 121

In the case between Omalpe Sobhita Thero and Dayananda Dissanayake and Another, the court addressed the constitutional issue concerning the commencement date of the President’s term of office and whether the failure of the Commissioner of Elections to clarify this date violated the petitioner’s rights under Article 12(1) of the Constitution. It was held that the President’s six-year term commences on the date the result of the Presidential election is declared (22nd December 1999) and that the Commissioner of Elections must conduct the presidential poll in accordance with this interpretation. The decision reaffirmed the constitutional principle that the executive mandate derives from election by the people. In arriving at its determination, the judgment applied principles of constitutional