report in Daily Mirror online, Nov 25, 2023 at 07:31 am
COLOMBO – The appointment of the tenth member to the Constitutional Council (CC) has been hampered over differences within the opposition, eventually leading to its activities being hamstrung, Daily Mirror learns.
According to the Constitution, the current vacancy which has existed for more than one year should be reserved for a member of the third-largest party in Parliament, not represented either by the Prime Minister or the Opposition Leader. As such, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna District MP Dharmalingam Siddharthan has been nominated to the post.
However, the political group which defected from Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has also staked a claim for it. However, their claim is disputed because they were elected to Parliament on the SLPP ticket and therefore could not be construed as a separate political entity in the House.
The deadlock not only hinders CC’s overall functionality in terms of appointments of members to key positions such as the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Earlier, President Ranil Wickremesinghe criticised the CC claiming that certain members of the CC were sabotaging the activities of the government by not approving the names sent by him for the judiciary and the IGP.
He told Parliament that a separate Parliamentary Select Committee would be appointed by next week to look into the CC.
“IGP is not there. Judges are not there. I wonder how we can mete out justice. Neither the police nor the judiciary can work. If certain members of the CC were sabotaging the activities of the government, we cannot continue this system,” he said.
The President said as Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa had given his consent to recognise SLPP dissents including Prof. G.L. Peiris as a separate party had created an issue.
“You all recognise Prof. G.L. Peiris as a party. The moment you recognise them, as a party they also can make a claim,” he said and added that “They are not a party. They should not have been in the front-row seat.
The President said there was a dispute among the smaller parties over the smaller party representation in the CC and said it should be resolved by the opposition.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said the opposition had agreed upon TNA member Dharmalingam Siddharthan as the smaller party representation in the CC and that the Speaker must make the appointment.
Opposition Leader Premadasa, who responded to the President’s allegations, said that the CC was not responsible for the appointment of the IGP and the members of the judiciary. He said the President’s failure to make a permanent appointment as the IGP had created an uncertain situation.
https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Dispute-over-SLPP-breakaway-group-hinders-CCs-functionality/108-271981
