Colombo: Big blow to the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil WickremesingheProposal for 21st amendment in the constitution to curb the autocratic powers of the President Gotabaya Rajapaksescheduled to refer Almirah Not presented on Monday. According to sources, the proposal was not presented in the cabinet after the ruling party MPs. Sri Lanka The Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in its present form opposed this. He demanded that the proposed law be approved by the attorney general before sending it to the cabinet.
The 21st amendment is expected to repeal 20A, which had given President Gotabaya Rajapaksa unlimited powers after scrapping the 19th amendment, which made parliament powerful over the president.
Constitutional reform was a key point of agreement between Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe when he took over as prime minister on 12 May.
Rajapaksa also promised to reform the constitution in an address to the nation earlier this month.
The 21st amendment would make it impossible for people with dual citizenship to hold a seat in Parliament. President Rajapaksa, facing growing demands for his resignation for mismanaging the country’s economy, gave up his US citizenship in April 2019 before contesting the presidential election.
Justice Minister Vijayadas Rajapaksa had earlier said that the 21st Amendment seeks to further strengthen the powers of existing commissions and make them independent.
In addition to the existing independent commissions, the National Audit Commission and the Procurement Commission will be amended to be independent commissions under the proposed law.
The Justice Minister said that the new amendment also proposes the appointment of the Governor of the Central Bank, which will come under the Constitutional Council.
The powerful Rajapaksa family tightened their grip on power after a landslide victory in the general elections in August 2020, allowing them to amend the constitution to restore presidential powers and install close family members in key positions .
In his 2019 presidential bid, Gotabaya Rajapaksa won a convincing mandate for the presidency, during which he sought full presidential power over parliament.
Sri Lanka has been reeling from an unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948.
Severe shortage of foreign reserves has led to long queues for fuel, cooking gas and other essential items, while power cuts and rising food prices have irked people.
The economic crisis has also led to a political crisis in Sri Lanka and calls for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The crisis has already forced the president’s older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, to resign on 9 May.
Inflation soaring to 40 percent, shortages of food, fuel and medicines and rolling power blackouts have sparked nationwide protests and the currency collapsed, with the government lacking foreign exchange reserves to pay for imports. the wanted.
The 21st amendment is expected to repeal 20A, which had given President Gotabaya Rajapaksa unlimited powers after scrapping the 19th amendment, which made parliament powerful over the president.
Constitutional reform was a key point of agreement between Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe when he took over as prime minister on 12 May.
Rajapaksa also promised to reform the constitution in an address to the nation earlier this month.
The 21st amendment would make it impossible for people with dual citizenship to hold a seat in Parliament. President Rajapaksa, facing growing demands for his resignation for mismanaging the country’s economy, gave up his US citizenship in April 2019 before contesting the presidential election.
Justice Minister Vijayadas Rajapaksa had earlier said that the 21st Amendment seeks to further strengthen the powers of existing commissions and make them independent.
In addition to the existing independent commissions, the National Audit Commission and the Procurement Commission will be amended to be independent commissions under the proposed law.
The Justice Minister said that the new amendment also proposes the appointment of the Governor of the Central Bank, which will come under the Constitutional Council.
The powerful Rajapaksa family tightened their grip on power after a landslide victory in the general elections in August 2020, allowing them to amend the constitution to restore presidential powers and install close family members in key positions .
In his 2019 presidential bid, Gotabaya Rajapaksa won a convincing mandate for the presidency, during which he sought full presidential power over parliament.
Sri Lanka has been reeling from an unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948.
Severe shortage of foreign reserves has led to long queues for fuel, cooking gas and other essential items, while power cuts and rising food prices have irked people.
The economic crisis has also led to a political crisis in Sri Lanka and calls for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The crisis has already forced the president’s older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, to resign on 9 May.
Inflation soaring to 40 percent, shortages of food, fuel and medicines and rolling power blackouts have sparked nationwide protests and the currency collapsed, with the government lacking foreign exchange reserves to pay for imports. the wanted.