Despite the big hue and cry made by the Joint Opposition (JO) members on the floor of the House, the Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Bill was passed with a two-thirds majority in Parliament giving more access to women’s representation. At the Second Reading vote, the Bill which received 154 votes in favour and 43 against proposes to hold elections under a hybrid of First Past the Post and Proportional Representation systems. The TNA, JVP and SLMC also voted with the Government while the Joint Opposition members voted against.
The Government passed the legislation with a two-thirds majority, once again displaying its stability and overwhelming majority in the House. At the early stage of the debate, Parliament sittings were suspended for about two hours as the JO members disrupted the proceedings. The thrust of the JO was that the Government under the pretext of the Bill attempts to postpone PC elections that could not be effected through the 20th Amendment that was struck down by the Supreme Court.
When the Bill was taken for the Second Reading , a tense situation ensued, as the JO protested demanding that the Bill be referred to the Provincial Councils for their approval. They urged the Speaker to suspend sittings on two occasions. However, the Speaker told the JO members that the process of presenting Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Bill to Parliament was consistent with the provisions of the Constitution and that the Attorney General had informed him in writing that the Bill did not need to be referred to the Provincial Councils.
JO front liners Wimal Weerawansa, Namal Rajapaksa and Local Government and Provincial Councils Oversight Committee Chairman Gamini Lokuge drew the attention of the House to the fact that the amendments were entirely different to the original Bill discussed by the Oversight Committee. Deputy Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ajith P. Perera who countered the point, said, there was nothing to be alarmed about the amendments as they were similar to those of the Local Government Election (Amendment) Bill passed in the House recently.
Joint Opposition leader Dinesh Gunawardena said the Government brought the 20th Amendment to postpone Provincial Councils elections by a year. However, the Premier or the Provincial Councils Minister didn’t explain to the House as to what happened to the 20th Amendment. Gunawardena was of the view that the Government had no right to postpone the elections and added that it is wrong to bring amendments which are outside the purview of the Act. The MP demanded that the Premier should tell the House when they are going to hold the PC elections. He alleged that Provincial Councils Minister has lied to the country, so that he should immediately resign from his portfolio. JO member Wimal Weerawansa said, they are not against increasing women’s representation up to 25 percent. Weerawansa said the Government is delaying the holding of elections on flimsy grounds because it fears losing .
Responding to the JO members, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Local Government and Provincial Councils elections will be held by March 30, next year. Categorically rejecting the JO claims, the Premier said, the Government has no intention to postpone elections taking cover behind Bills and Acts. He said the terms of three Provincial Councils would expire by the end of this year. Therefore, elections would be duly held to the Local Government bodies by March 30 next year. The Prime Minister said the intention of the Government is to hold elections to all Provincial Councils on a single day. Yet, we had to change that decision following a Supreme Court ruling and added that the elections will be held as soon as possible and the Elections Commission will decide the dates of the elections.
Against the background of controversy and speculation on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya told Parliament that the Supreme Court, by a majority vote had ruled that the 20th Amendment is inconsistent with several articles in the Constitution and a referendum is needed in addition to a two-thirds majority vote in Parliament to pass the legislation which sought to hold elections to all nine Provincial Councils on a single day.
The Speaker who read the Supreme Court ruling said the Bill titled “Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution” has been challenged in the Supreme Court in terms of Article 121 (l) of the Constitution. He told the House that “the majority of the court has determined that clauses 2, 3 and 4 of the Bill are inconsistent with the Articles 3, 4, 12(1) and 14(1) of the Constitution and under Article 83 the Bill shall become law if the number of votes cast in favour thereof amounts to not less than two-thirds of the whole number of Members (including those not present) and approved by the people at a Referendum and a certificate is endorsed thereon by the President in accordance with Article 80.
Another highlight in the House was when former Deputy Minister of Tourism and Christian Affairs Arundika Fernando crossed over to the Joint Opposition after making a statement vowing to work towards toppling the Government. The MP was warmly welcomed by the JO MPs including former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. A majority of Government members walked out of the Chamber when MP Fernando got up to speak. The MP in his speech told the House that during his Parliament career he has given his fullest support to the Leader who liberated the country from the clutches of terrorism. He said that he accepted a Deputy Ministerial portfolio of the incumbent Government with the intention of taking the country forward from where the former Leader had stopped. But, I regret to say there has not been any development since then, the Government is on the verge of collapse, and a Colombo-centered capitalist clique is running the Government.
The Interim Report of the Steering Committee, tasked with framing a new Constitution was submitted by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to the Constitutional Assembly on Thursday (September 21). Presenting the report, the Premier said the draft was not the final outcome of the process of formulating a new constitution and would be completed only after discussions in Parliament and securing the consensus of the public.
Meanwhile, the SLFP faction in the Government insisted that the Executive Presidency had to be retained if the unitary character of the state is to be safeguarded. Addressing a press briefing held in Parliament complex, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said a President with certain executive powers is essential for the stability of the country. The Minister said it was proposed by the UNP at the Steering Committee meetings that the Executive Presidency be replaced by an Executive Prime Minister. He said the SLFP cannot agree to that as they do not see it as a solution to the problem. Expressing a different view, JVP Leader and Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake told the House if democracy is to be strengthened, the new Constitution should abolish the Executive Presidency.. A heated argument ensued after UNP National List MP Ashu Marasinghe charged that the Chairman of Parliament watchdog committee, COPE Sunil Handunneththi had acted in violation of Standing Orders. This created a tense situation, and JO members accused the Government of exerting undue pressure on the COPE Chairman to block investigations into alleged frauds in the central expressway project. JO member Mahindananda Aluthgamage alleged the Government is trying to silence the COPE Chairman.