The President has officially gazetted the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.
This action follows a directive from Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, who had earlier instructed the Secretary of the Justice Ministry to delay the publication of the amendment until after the Presidential Election.
The Minister's directive came amidst accusations that the amendment was a tactic to postpone the election. The 22nd Amendment aims to amend paragraph (b) of Article 83 by changing the term limit from "exceeding six years" to "exceeding five years."