The long-standing tug of war between former president Maithripala Sirisena and Nimal Siripala de Silva for the chairmanship of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) came to an end today (16), when Sirisena informed the Court of Appeal that he would no longer contest for the SLFP Chairmanship.

Sirisena’s lawyer, Maithri Gunaratne PC, conveyed this decision to the court during the hearing of a petition filed by Montagu Sarachchandra, an executive member of the SLFP, who had cited Sirisena for contempt of court. Following the announcement, Gunaratne confirmed that Sirisena had no objection to accepting Siripala de Silva as the new SLFP Chairman.

The dispute arose from the party constitution, which stipulates that a former president, such as Sirisena, loses the right to hold the position of SLFP Chairman upon vacating the presidency. This led to the Colombo District Court issuing a permanent injunction preventing Sirisena from functioning as the SLFP Chairperson. This was the second such ruling against Sirisena, following a previous order issued in a case filed by former president and SLFP patron, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

In addition, the Court of Appeal had earlier issued a notice to Sirisena regarding the contempt of court petition filed by Sarathchandra. The petition alleged that Sirisena had violated a court order preventing him from acting as SLFP Chairman. The two-member bench of the Court of Appeal, led by President Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne and Justice Shashi Mahendran, had instructed Sirisena’s legal team to confirm the facts of the case.