World News | Draft Bill on 22nd Amendment to Sri Lanka's Constitution Gazetted

Colombo, Jun 30 (PTI) The preliminary draft for the 22nd Amendment to Sri Lanka's Constitution aimed to empower Parliament over the executive president has been published in a gazette notification.

Sri Lanka's Cabinet on Monday approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, to publish the bill in the Government Gazette.

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The bill was published in a gazette notification issued by the minister on June 29 and now it will be presented to Parliament for approval, the Colombo Page reported.

The new legislation sets out a broad definition of the issues to be considered and met in the appointment of the President, the powers of the Prime Minister and the nature of the post, the new commissions and how the Cabinet will be collectively accountable.

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The 22nd Amendment was originally named 21A and meant to replace the 20A. The amendment was formulated amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country which also caused a political crisis.

The amendment will be called 22nd as another draft 21st Amendment has already been gazetted.

Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948 which has led to an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel across the country.

The street protests have been triggered across the country over the poor handling of the economic crisis and the lack of accountability to it. Protesters are demanding the resignation of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

After the resignation of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister to pave the way for a consensus government of all parties, President Gotabya Rajapaksa pledged to introduce the 21st Amendment to the Constitution.

The 20A adopted in 2020 had given unfettered powers to President Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment.

The 21st Amendment proposed by the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party was struck down by Sri Lanka's Supreme Court which ordered a national referendum for it to become a law. With that, the amendment became a non-starter.

The powerful Rajapaksa family tightened their grip on power after their massive victory in the general elections in August 2020, which allowed them to amend the Constitution to restore presidential powers and install close family members in key positions.

Current Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was the main sponsor of the 19th Amendment in 2015 which empowered Parliament over the executive president.

The constitutional reform was a major plank of the agreement between Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe when he took over the job of prime minister on May 12. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)