President reappoints IGP Wickramaratne despite CC vetoing service extension

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has reappointed current police chief C.D. Wickramaratne despite the Constitutional Council unanimously vetoing the service extension given last week.

The Constitutional Council had taken an undivided decision at its meeting yesterday (Oct. 17) to reject the third tenure extension granted to Wickramaratne, who was appointed as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in November 2020 and was supposed to retire from the police service on March 26, 2023.

President Wickremesinghe had extended his tenure by 3 months on two occasions - on March 26 and July 09 - by way of special gazette notifications.

The second tenure prolongation came to an end on October 09. IGP Wickramaratne was, however, granted yet another service extension of 3 weeks on October 13.

President Wickremesinghe, who is currently on a four-day official visit to China, has reportedly given instructions from Beijing to make the necessary arrangements to reappoint IGP Wickramaratne.