Constitutional expert senior lawyer Lal Wijenaike said holding a referendum on the possibility of conducting a Parliamentary election was unconstitutional.

He said the Supreme Court had already given a ruling on the timeline of the next election and in that context, holding a referendum on the same matter could be deemed as an unconstitutional act.

Such a move will also lead to the postponement of the Presidential election which is due later this year, Wijenaike said.

It was widely speculated that President Maithripala Sirisena is preparing to hold a referendum on consisting a premature Parliamentary election. It has been reported that the President has already obtained legal opinion on the matter.

His attempts to hold a Parliamentary election amidst a political crisis last year was shot down by the Supreme Court.