m:
a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim,
Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Ranasinghe PREMADASA (since 2 January 1989)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGE (since 6 March 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
United National Party (UNP), Ranasinghe PREMADASA; Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(SLFP), Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), M. H. M.
ASHRAFF; All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Kumar PONNAMBALAM; People's
United Front (MEP, or Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Dinesh GUNAWARDENE; Eelam
Democratic Front (EDF), Edward Sebastian PILLAI; Tamil United Liberation
Front (TULF), leader (vacant); Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students
(EROS), Velupillai BALAKUMARAN; New Socialist Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama
Samaja Party), Vasudeva NANAYAKKARA; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP,
or Lanka Sama Samaja Party), Colin R. de SILVA; Sri Lanka People's Party
(SLMP, or Sri Lanka Mahajana Party), Ossie ABEYGUNASEKERA; Communist Party,
K. P. SILVA; Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N. SHANMUGATHASAN; note - the
United Socialist Alliance (USA) includes the NSSP, LSSP, SLMP, CP/M, and
CP/B
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
President:
last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held NA December 1994); results -
Ranasinghe PREMADASA (UNP) 50%, Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE (SLFP) 45%, other 5%

:Sri Lanka Government

Parliament:
last held 15 February 1989 (next to be held by NA February 1995); results -
UNP 51%, SLFP 32%, SLMC 4%, TULF 3%, USA 3%, EROS 3%, MEP 1%, other 3%;
seats - (225 total) UNP 125, SLFP 67, other 33
Other political or pressure groups:
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other smaller Tamil separatist
groups; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP or People's Liberation Front);
Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; labor unions
Member of:
AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNI