President of Sri Lanka Bar Association Upul Jayasooriya said the BASL would meet Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya and urge him to prevent the occurrence of what he termed as an 'illegitimate' presidential election.

Upul Jayasooriya also added that he would fully back Professor Suri Ratnapala's statement on the illegality of a third term presidency for President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sri Lanka Bar Association sought the assistance of Professor Ratnapala, an Australian legal expert, to clear the air on the matter.

The move came in a context where certain parties, including former Chief Justice Sarath N Silva, alleged that President Rajapaksa was not in a position to contest for his third term.

It is widely speculated that the presidential election will take place early January and the JVP has already threatened to boycott the election citing its "illegitimacy".

Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya yesterday  the BASL President said that the 18th amendment should be evaluated under the law interpretation ordinance which is generally used to interpret the law.

"Even though the 18th amendment states that a President can compete for more than two times, it does not apply for President Mahinda Rajapaksa but to the next president who gets elected after him and those to follow", said Jayasooriya outlining Suri Ratnapala's statement.

The BASL yesterday (18) held a special meeting to express their stand on the upcoming presidential election and President Mahinda Rajapaksa's candidacy for a third term presidency.

Explaining his viewpoints on the matter, BASL President Upul Jayasooriya said that the Bar Association of Sri Lanka would brief Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya on the final conclusion of the BASL over the matter.