No, Deshapriya Did Not Ask to Extend the Election Chief’s Retirement Age

Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel

With the country already arguing over a plan to keep judges on the bench longer, a screenshot dressed up in Newswire’s familiar branding began doing the rounds: former Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya, it claimed, wanted the Elections Commissioner’s retirement age extended, and wanted his old job back. Deshapriya says he said no such thing. We investigated. Here is what we found.

Social Media Posts

Facebook  |  Archived Link  |  Facebook

Mainstream Media Carried No Such Statement

Had Deshapriya genuinely called for extending the Elections Commissioner’s retirement age, and had he really sought reappointment, mainstream media would have covered it. Our investigation confirmed that no mainstream outlet and no credible official source has reported or corroborated any such claim.

Newswire Never Published This Post

Because the post was built using the official format of the Newswire news agency, we checked whether Newswire had actually published it. No such post appears on any of Newswire’s official social media accounts.

Deshapriya Himself Says the Claim Is False

Responding to a comment on the circulating post, former Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said the claim is entirely false.

When we contacted him directly, Deshapriya said he had never made any statement calling for the Elections Commissioner’s retirement age to be extended. He added that he has no interest whatsoever in returning to the role and pointed out that the post of Elections Commissioner no longer exists, having been abolished.

The Post of ‘Elections Commissioner’ Was Abolished in 2015

Before the Election Commission was set up in 2015, the Department of Elections and its head, the Elections Commissioner, sat at the center of Sri Lanka’s electoral structure. Every decision and power, from conducting elections to preparing the electoral register, rested with that single officer.

Under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, effective 13 November 2015, an Election Commission was established, and the single-person post of Elections Commissioner was abolished, with authority passing to a multi-member body. Mahinda Deshapriya, the last Elections Commissioner, became the first Chairman of the new Commission. R.M.A.L. Ratnayake has chaired the Commission since July 2023, while Rasika Peiris has served as Commissioner General of Elections since 14 November 2025. More details are here.

Trade Unions Want the Retirement Age Raised for All State Workers

The post surfaced against a proposal to extend the retirement age of judges, which prompted trade unions to demand that the retirement age be raised to 67 for all state employees, roughly 1.5 million people. At a media briefing on 13 August 2026, the National Organization of Trade Unions and Professionals argued that any extension based on service needs should apply across the entire state and semi-government sector, not to a single service. Further details are here and here.

The Judges’ Retirement-Age Bill Goes to Parliament on 18 August

The government gazette the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill, which extends the retirement age of judges, on 7 August 2026, and was due to present it to Parliament on Tuesday 18 August 2026. The government says the step serves the public interest by clearing the courts’ backlog and retaining experienced judges. Because the change would apply to serving judges too, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has strongly opposed it, and UN Special Rapporteur Margaret Satterthwaite warned on 13 August that applying it to sitting judges could undermine judicial independence. More detail is here and here.

Join us to learn more about our fact-check investigations.

Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Google News  |  TikTok  |  YouTube

Conclusion

Our fact-check found that the post claiming former Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya called for extending the Elections Commissioner’s retirement age, and sought reappointment, is fabricated.

Deshapriya himself confirmed he made no such statement. The post is a fake designed to mimic the Newswire news agency’s format, and the post of Elections Commissioner was abolished in 2015.