20A in Parliament 3 September

A senior Government politician said, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna will table the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, aimed at repealing the 19th Amendment, on 3 September and also asserted that a group of MPs from the Opposition were also willing to support the ruling alliance’s decision.

He observed that the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution will also entail a clause to the effect of granting powers back to the President to effect appointments and changes to top ranking Government posts.

He remarked that this power, which was previously vested with the President, had been transferred to the Constitutional Council (CC) through the 19th Amendment and noted that the aim of the new Amendment is to revert to the former position.

The politician also pointed out that through the 20th Amendment, the Government will also look to increase the composition of the Election Commission (EC) from its present three members up to five.

According to informed sources, the draft of the 20th Amendment is set to be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers on 2 September.

Meanwhile, the Government politician opined that already a sizeable number of Opposition MPs were conducting talks with the ruling alliance on their intention to back the mooted 20th Amendment. He mentioned that these Opposition MPs had consented to back all progressive measures taken by the Government on behalf of the country and people.

(Source: Ceylon Today – By W.K. Prasad Manju)