With the proposed 18^th amendment to the constitution the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government has inflicted a severe blow to the electoral process of Sri Lanka. Since the new amendment gives the executive President the power to appoint members to the ‘independent’ commissions, including the Election Commission, CaFFE fears that the future elections will be far from free and fair.

 The reforms replace the present 10 member Constitutional Council (CC) with a five-member committee comprising the Speaker, the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition as ex officio (by right of office ) members. Unlike the existing CC which appoints members to the seven independent commissions the new five member committee will only be consulted by the president who has the power to appoint members to the independent commissions. (Read More)

"Without implementing the Public Service Commission established in terms of the 17th Amendment, President Rajapaksa was trying to bring in an 18th Amendment that would make the Public Service Commission an ineffective body, as the President can override its decisions.

Addressing a group of public servants in Colombo, he said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s proposed 18th Amendment has sought to deny the protection that the Public Service Commission, if implemented, would have given harassed government employees.

Instead of implementing the 17th Amendment that would have given public servants the badly needed protection they require, public servants are tied to trees and abused by members of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday. (Read More)

Campaign for Free and Fair Election (CaFFE) yesterday charged that the proposed 18th Amendment to the constitution would inflict a severe blow to Sri Lanka’s democracy because the new amendment allowed the president to appoint members to the ‘Independent’ Commissions.

CaFFE spokesman Keerthi Tennakoon said the reforms replaced the present 10-member Constitutional Council (CC) with a five-member committee comprising the Speaker, the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition as ex officio members but eventually the president would have the final say in appointments to the independent commissions.

“The new five-member committee will only be consulted by the president who will have the power to appoint members to the independent commissions including the elections commission,” he said.(Read More)

The UNP Parliamentary Group and Working Committee yesterday decided unanimoulsy to vote against the constitutional amendents proposed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa seeking inter alia to permit a sitting President to contest any number of times, instead of the present two terms.

Informed sources told "The Island" that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the Parliamentay Group cum Working Committee Meeting at "Srikotha" said that he accepted President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s invitation to discuss constitutional reforms, because he was made to understand that the executive presidency would be abolished and replaced by the post of an executive prime minister answerable to Parliament.

Since Rajapaksa had not kept his word and was now intent on preserving the executive presidency for an unlimited period, there was no option but to oppose it, Wickremesinghe said pointing out that he was prepared to support any amendments to establish a people friendly constitution, but not for the perpetuation of family rule by the Rajapaksas in violation of the people’s will. (Read More)

A referendum should be held in addition to approval by a two-thirds majority in parliament for the proposed Constitutional amendments to come into force, several petitioners claimed in the Supreme Court yesterday. 

The intervening petitioners sought a referendum in addition to the envisaged two-thirds majority vote in parliament for the proposed constitutional amendments, when the amendments were taken up for determination before the five-member Supreme Court bench yesterday. 

The special Supreme Court bench comprised Justices Shirani A. Bandaranayake, K. Sripavan, P.A.Ratnayake, S.I.Imam and R.K.Suresh Chandra.

“The proposed Amendments to the Constitution which seek to alter the number of terms limit of the Executive Presidency consist of several amendments which purportedly give unfettered dictatorial power. Hence it should be approved by Majority in Parliament and get the people’s assent by a referendum,” President’s Counsel Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne appearing for two intervenient petitioners,

Attorney-at-law Lal Wijenayake and Chandra Jayaratne,  submitted, when the proposed Bill, presented to Court as an urgent Bill, was taken up for its determination. (Read More)

The main opposition UNP yesterday urged the government to hold a referendum on the proposed constitutional amendments to gauge public opinion since the government had not received a mandate at the April 8 General Election to extend the President’s term.

While expressing the party’s total dissatisfaction on these proposals, UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told a news conference that the ruling UPFA did not seek a mandate at the last parliamentary election to introduce such draconian constitutional reforms.

“We will take these proposals at the Working Committee meeting.   This is a step towards dictatorship,” he said.

Mr. Attanayake said the MPs should be given the opportunity to act according to their self conscience during the vote on these reforms.(Read More)

The Cabinet yesterday approved the new Local Government Elections (Amendment) Bill which provides for the conducting of polls under a mix of the present proportional representation system and the first-past-the-post system.

According to the proposals one-third of the members will be elected to local bodies under the PR system while the rest will be on the first-past-the-post system. As the law stands today, the local council heads have powers to approve the annual budgets of their councils even after they are rejected by the majority of councillors during the vote.................. (Read More)

The Cabinet yesterday unanimously approved constitutional amendments proposed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Among them is an amendment aimed at doing away with the 10-member Constitutional Council and replacing it with a five-member Constitutional Advisory Committee (CAC). The government intends to retain all independent commissions established under the 17th Amendment except the Independent Police Commission.

The government seeks to scrap Article 31 (2), which restricts the number of terms an elected executive president could serve to two. According to the proposed amendment, an elected president can contest and get elected any number of times.

Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne tabled the Cabinet memorandum containing constitutional amendments yesterday morning.

The CAC will survive the dissolution of Parliament and continue to function notwithstanding the formation of a new government.  (Read More)

With Provincial Council elections due in the North later this year, authorities have decided to move all its ministries from Trincomalee to Kilinochchi from September 1.
Northern Governor retired Maj-Gen G A Chandrasiri yesterday confirmed that he gave directives to the Northern Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Animal Husbandry to move from the beginning of next month.
The directive was conveyed in writing to Ministry Secretary N Pathmanathan on Friday.
The Governor also said he hoped to have the other vital ministries like Health and Education also in Kilinochchi before the end of the year as their services were urgently required for ongoing development work,
especially in Wanni.

As reconstruction work gathered pace in the Wanni, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is personally overseeing such operations, is once again due in the region tomorrow to chair all review meetings.
There is speculation, meanwhile, that Colombo district MP Prabha Ganeshan, who defected to the government from the Democratic People’s Front recently, might be appointed the new northern governor if Maj-Gen Chandrasiri takes up a diplomatic assignment, This, however, could not be independently verified.

Maj-Gen Chandrasiri said people were asking him about the diplomatic posting, but he knew nothing of it.
As a sign of the growing importance of the North, this year’s Government Agents conference is now scheduled to be held in Jaffna on September 6 and 7.
Jaffna GA Imelda Sugumar, who will chair the meeting, is busy making relevant preparations. (RA)

The Cabinet is expected to tomorrow consider a special memorandum dealing with the constitutional amendment lifting the two-term restriction on the office of president as well as changes to the 17th Amendment, authoritative governmental sources said yesterday.

With the two thirds majority wrapped-up, the government intends having the draft Bill presented to Parliament on Sept. 8.

Senior cabinet sources confirmed that the Chief Government Whip, Mr. Dinesh Gunawardena, had circularized the 147 members of the government parliamentary group not to leave the country or fix any engagements during the next fortnight as their presence in parliament will be essential.

The proposed changes are also due to be presented for endorsement to the 59th annual convention of the SLFP to be held at Temple Trees on Sept. 2.

Meanwhile several opposition political parties including the UNP, DNA, TNA and some members of civil society intend challenging the proposed changes before the Supreme Court urging that the proposed amendments affect the franchise of the people and require approval at a referendum.

The legislation is to be presented as an urgent Bill with the president referring it to the Supreme Court for an opinion on its constitutionality. Such an opinion must be tendered to the speaker within two days of the reference.

UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha said that the government was confident of the two-third majority.