Lankan court rejects Fonseka bid to regain parliamentary seat

A Sri Lankan court has rejected former army chief Sarath Fonseka's petition seeking his reinstatement as a member of parliament.
The Appeal Court yesterday dismissed with cost his petition which pleaded the court to issue a mandatory order to re-appoint him to the Colombo district seat.
The Court said that there were no legal provisions in the Constitution to allow reappointment of members to parliament subsequent to a presidential pardon.
Fonseka, 64, the leader of Democratic Party, was elected to parliament from Colombo district in 2010 when he ran in coalition with the opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party.
He was subsequently unseated after the High Court and a military court found him guilty of harboring military deserters during his presidential election campaign in 2010.

Fonseka was, however, pardoned in 2013 by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa who ruled the country for nearly 10 years.

The former general had backed President Maithripala Sirisena against Rajapaksa in the last Presidential election.
In March, Fonseka was conferred the country's highest military rank of field marshal for "achieving victory over terrorism" by the new Sirisena government, five years after he was jailed on alleged treason charges by the previous regime.
Soon after his 2010 poll defeat, Fonseka was detained on a corruption charge relating to military procurements and then given a 30-month jail sentence. He spent two years in jail.

He was stripped of his rank, pension and medal he received during his 40-year career and also denied the right to contest polls for seven years.