COLOMBO, Aug. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Sri Lanka's Supreme Court announced here Friday that the country's next presidential election must be held within 2005.

    In a unanimous judgment by a five-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Sarath N Silva, the court ruling came in response to a case filed by the all Buddhist Monk party and the JHU (or the Heritage Party) seeking a decision form the court.

    The ruling means that the election must be held between Oct. 22 and Nov. 22 this year.

    Sri Lankan political parties have been engaged in a long winding debate over the date for the election with incumbent President Chandrika Kumaratunga maintaining that the election should only be held in 2006.

    The main opposition United National Party (UNP) ran a massive public agitation campaign to have the election held this year with a hugely attended walk from deep south to the capital Colombo followed up by a public petition campaign.

    Kumaratunga, who was sworn in for a second and final six-year term in 1999, cannot contest again and she had already named her prime minister Mahinda Rajapakse as her candidate.

    UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had declared his candidature as early as January this year.

    With the court decision, Kumaratunga's term should end in December this year. Enditem