| Hauptstadt | Name: Colombo (commercial capital); Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) geographische Koordinaten: 6 55 N, 79 50 E Zeitunterschied: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: Colombo may derive from the Sinhala "kolon thota," meaning "port on the river" (referring to the Kelani River that empties into the Indian Ocean at Colombo); alternatively, the name may derive from the Sinhala "kola amba thota" meaning "harbor with mango trees"; it is also possible that the Portuguese named the city after Christopher COLUMBUS, who lived in Portugal for many years (as Cristovao COLOMBO) before discovering the Americas for the Spanish crown in 1492 - not long before the Portuguese made their way to Sri Lanka in 1505; Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte translates as "Resplendent City of Growing Victory" in Sinhala |
| Unabhängigkeit | 4 Februar 1948 (from the UK) |
| Nationalfeiertag | Unabhängigkeit (National Day), 4 Februar (1948) |
| Konstitution | history: several previous; latest adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 amendments: proposed by Parliament; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of its total membership, certification by the president of the republic or the Parliament speaker, and in some cases approval in a referendum by absolute majority of valid votes; amended many times, last in 2015; note - deliberations by a constitutional assembly tasked with revising the constitution in März 2016 stalled after the prime minister tabled an experts’ report on proposals for a new constitution in Januar 2019 (2019) |
| Wahlrecht | 18 Jahre; universal |
| Exekutive | Staatsoberhaupt: Staatspräsident Gotabaya RAJAPAKSA (seit dem 18 November 2019); note - the president is both Staatsoberhaupt and Regierungschef; Prime Minister Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (seit dem 21 November 2019) Regierungschef: Gotabaya RAJAPAKSA (elected 16 November, sworn in 18 November 2019) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections/appointments: president directly elected by preferential majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 16 November 2019 (next to by held in 2024); prime minister appointed by the president from among members of Parliament for a 5-year term) election results: Gotabaya RAJAPAKSA elected president; percent of vote - Gotabaya RAJAPAKSA (SLPP) 52.2%, Sajith PREMADASA (UNP) 42%, other 5.8% |
Quelle: CIA World Factbook - Version Dezember 31, 2019
