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| Extra year in power for Rajapaksa | Extra year in power for Rajapaksa |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ruled that President Mahinda Rajapaksa's new six-year term of office will begin in November 2010. | The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ruled that President Mahinda Rajapaksa's new six-year term of office will begin in November 2010. |
| The president had wanted his new term to begin in 2011, although he called elections two years early to capitalise on his defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels. | |
| He won 57.8% of votes, compared to 40% for his main rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka. | He won 57.8% of votes, compared to 40% for his main rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka. |
| Gen Fonseka was army chief when government forces defeated separatist rebels after 26 years of civil war. | Gen Fonseka was army chief when government forces defeated separatist rebels after 26 years of civil war. |
| Correspondents say that despite the fact he wanted his new term of office to start later, the court ruling is a boost for him. | Correspondents say that despite the fact he wanted his new term of office to start later, the court ruling is a boost for him. |
| His new tenure will effectively be six years and nine months instead of the designated six years. | His new tenure will effectively be six years and nine months instead of the designated six years. |
| "The Supreme Court says the new term begins on 19 November this year," an official in the president's office told the AFP news agency. | "The Supreme Court says the new term begins on 19 November this year," an official in the president's office told the AFP news agency. |
| The court's decision means that President Rajapaksa will remain in power until 2016. | The court's decision means that President Rajapaksa will remain in power until 2016. |
| Opposition anger | |
| President Rajapaksa filed a request to the court to allow his term to begin later. | |
| Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga also tried to extend her term in office on similar grounds in 1999. | |
| The court rejected her request partly because she had already taken the oath of office for the new presidential term. | |
| The decision is likely to anger opposition supporters. They are due to stage a rally against the election results in Colombo on Wednesday. | |
| Gen Fonseka was President Rajapaksa's staunch ally while they were battling Tamil Tigers rebels, but they later fell out over who should take credit for winning the war. | |
| On Monday a group of senior Sri Lankan military officers who supported the Fonseka campaign were dismissed because they were deemed a a "threat to national security". | |
| 'Critics harassed' | |
| On Tuesday Amnesty International released a statement saying journalists, opposition supporters and critics of the government have been arrested and harassed since the election. | |
| "Victory against the Tamil Tigers followed by an historic election should have ended political repression in Sri Lanka, but instead we have seen a serious clampdown on freedom of expression," Madhu Malhotra, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific deputy director said. | |
| And US-based rights group Human Rights Watch said Sri Lanka should end the indefinite detention of some 11,000 people in custody suspected of having links to Tamil Tiger rebels. | |
| More than 70,000 people died in 26 years of civil war as Sri Lank troops battled Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland for the country's Tamil minority. |