Sri Lanka court allows candidate to keep citizenship

A Sri Lankan court has dismissed a case seeking the cancellation of the citizenship of presidential hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa, clearing the way for him to register as a candidate in a November election.

Two civil activists had asked the Court of Appeal to withdraw Rajapaksa’s citizenship, saying he renounced it in 2003 to become a U.S citizen and regained it two years later in an irregular manner.

The three-judge panel on Friday unanimously rejected the case, saying it had no merit.

Rajapaksa, a brother of former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, is a front-runner in the Nov. 16 presidential balloting. Nominations for the election will be accepted on Monday.

Only citizens can contest presidential elections.