President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said national elections will not be postponed “under any circumstances,” rejecting opposition claims that the government intends to replace the presidential election with a referendum, in a speech opening the NPP’s two-year anniversary rally series at Bulathsinhala on Sunday.

No referendum, and an argument about arithmetic

There was no intention to delay the presidential election and hold a referendum instead, the President said, according to Ada Derana. His remarks answered claims by opposition groups that such a substitution was being prepared — a charge that has run alongside the 22nd Amendment referendum argument since the joint opposition wrote to the Speaker in August.

His case against the idea was tactical rather than constitutional. A referendum would divide public opinion into two blocs, he argued, while a presidential election splits the electorate among several competing groups. A referendum proposed to delay an election would therefore unite his opponents; an election would keep them apart, each chasing the presidency.

“People with even a basic understanding of politics know that referendums are not introduced to postpone elections.”

Parliamentary and presidential elections would be held on the constitutional schedule, he said, adding: “We are not afraid of the people. We are coming before the people.” Provincial council elections would follow “as soon as the existing legal impediment to conducting them is removed” — he did not say what that impediment is or when it might be cleared.

Update: the 22nd Amendment will go to Parliament as soon as the court rules

In the same speech the President said the 22nd Amendment will be approved by Parliament soon after the Supreme Court communicates its determination to the Speaker, and that it will not be abandoned under any circumstances.

A number of petitions challenging the amendment are before the Supreme Court and a determination is expected shortly, he said, according to Ada Derana. Once the court rules, the government intends to place the amendment before Parliament and proceed with the parliamentary process. He said the government would not reverse decisions taken in what it considers the people’s interests, despite opposition to the reforms.

That timetable follows the conclusion of Supreme Court hearings and the closure of written submissions in the petitions.

The backlog argument — and an answer to “political revenge”

The Daily Mirror carried a portion Ada Derana did not: the President’s case that the amendment is essential to strengthen anti-corruption measures, and his explanation for the recent run of arrests.

The government has moved to speed up the courts, he said — recruiting additional judicial service personnel, accelerating Government Analyst’s Department reports, and establishing more High Courts — to clear a backlog in which some cases have gone unresolved for 15 to 20 years. Clearing it, he argued, is what produces arrests day after day.

“Some claim that we are carrying out political revenge. If there had been no backlog of cases, there would not be this many arrests.”

The Daily Mirror reported the remark without naming anyone. It answers, without attribution, the charge the SLPP made in writing the previous day over Namal Rajapaksa’s arrest and remand — the first substantive government response to that claim.

US$1 billion, and a tea-export comparison

Sri Lanka is losing about US$1 billion a year through illicit financial channels, the President said, NewsFirst reported — an amount he put as almost equal to the country’s annual tea export earnings. He credited the Criminal Investigation Department and Sri Lanka Customs with acting to stop foreign currency leaving through the black economy.

On the public finances he claimed government revenue reached 16.7% of GDP in 2025, which he described as the highest in decades, and the lowest budget deficit since 1957, both attributed to closing revenue leakage and tighter spending control.

For next year he set out Rs. 2 trillion in capital expenditure covering roads, water supply and waste management — restating a figure the government has carried since the 2027 capital budget was first trailed in May — plus Rs. 200 million per district as a development reserve routed through District Coordinating Committees.

He also listed welfare increases: Mahapola Rs. 5,000 → Rs. 10,000; the fertiliser subsidy Rs. 12,000 → Rs. 30,000; the disability allowance Rs. 5,000 → Rs. 10,000; the senior citizens’ allowance Rs. 3,000 → Rs. 5,000; and a new Rs. 5,000 monthly payment for children in care centres. Rising revenue, he said, must come with responsible management and spending discipline.

A date for the digital ID

The President said 80% of government services will be accessible from home by next year as state transactions move onto a digital system, Hiru News reported. Electricity and water bills, assessment taxes, birth and death certificates, vehicle registration and tax payments were named as services moving onto the platform.

Delivering it requires nationwide high-speed 4G. A survey identified a need for 1,000 communication towers, all to be built within three years, with 250 in the coming year.

He said the new digital identity card would be issued by December this year. That is the first time a month has been attached to first issuance: the Digital Economy Ministry has said the first Digital ID would come “within the course of the year,” with full nationwide implementation by August 2027. December is consistent with that, not a change to it.

Three English versions of one slogan

The rally series runs under the Sinhala theme “අපේ ආණ්ඩුව වසර දෙකයි - රටට සුබයි”, which NewsFirst renders loosely as “Two Years of Our Government – Good for the Country.” Ada Derana has translated the same slogan as “Two years strong. Progress for all,” and the Daily Mirror as “Our Government – Two Years: Good for the Nation.” NewsFirst is the first outlet to publish the Sinhala original.

Also on the platform: Lal Kantha on “love and peace”

Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Minister K.D. Lal Kantha addressed the same Bulathsinhala rally, telling the crowd the National People’s Power brought peace to the entire country immediately after coming to power, Hiru News reported.

The government first brought “love and peace” to the country on assuming office, he said, adding that nations around the world had been amazed by the transformation. He offered no measure or comparison in support of the claim, and Hiru was the only outlet to report his remarks.

Not reported

No outlet reported a date for the presidential election, what the legal impediment to provincial council polls consists of, or which opposition figures made the referendum claim the President was answering. None gave a source or methodology for the US$1 billion figure, the period it covers, or what “illicit financial channels” comprises — nor the tea export total it was compared against. The revenue and deficit claims were not attributed to a published Treasury or Central Bank release. No costing was given for the 1,000 towers or the welfare increases, and no outlet carried an opposition response.

Each of the three newsrooms carried a different portion of the speech; none reported all of it.

Sources