Members of the new five-member Elections Commission, established under the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, have been appointed by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

Nimal Punchihewa, former Legal Director of the Commission, was appointed as the new Chairman replacing Mahinda Deshapriya who retired from office recently. Although Deshapriya was asked to continue as a member of the Comission, he said he turned down the offer. Deshapriya was fondly known as "Maco" - the Sinhala abbreviations of his official title.

Punchihewa, a lawyer by profession and a senior administrator, has extensive experience in many aspects of the state sector.

The other members of the Commission include M.M. Mohamed, Gunapala Wickremage, Jeewan Thyagarajah and K.P.P. Pathirana.

The three-member Elections Commission, which was set up under the 19th Amendment to the Commission, was expanded by the 20th Amendment to the Commission.

However, many argued that the powers of the Commission would be diluted under the new constitutional amendment.