Colombo, Feb 2, 2010, SPA -- A Supreme Court ruling would enable Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, re-elected to office for a second term last week, to stay in power for almost an additional year in his current term, dpa quoted officials as saying today. Rajapaksa had sought a court interpretation on his term of office after he won re-election. Now the court has ruled that his current term will last through November 2011, to be followed by his next term. Rajapaksa held elections two years ahead of schedule and earlier claimed he was forgoing two years of his term to seek a fresh mandate from the Tamil minorities in the northern part of the country. Those people could not vote in the 2005 polls due a Tamil rebel boycott of elections. --SPA 20:28 LOCAL TIME 17:28 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/744424