The Government is seriously thinking about boycotting Parliament. One political party should have a minimum number of 19 seats in the Parliament to have a seat (place) in the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) and therefore the Speaker’s appointments are not acceptable at all, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris said.
Addressing a press conference at the SLPP Head Quarters in Battaramulla yesterday, he said that both the JVP and TNA cannot have places in the Parliament Select Committee because when 225 seats are divided by 12, one political party must have 19 seats to claim a place in the Committee.
“It is the accepted system all over the world and in Sri Lanka too, that the majority of seats of the Committee be allocated to the Government. As stated by the UNP Leader, Parliament cannot decide whether to hold the Presidential Election or General Election first. Parliament does not have that legal power,” Prof. Peiris said.
According to Prof. Peiris, the Speaker is favouring the UNP. It is the Leader of the House who makes the Order Paper and now he cannot do it because of the biased attituded of the Speaker.
“The Opposition cannot bring in any proposals/acts related to finance into Parliament and only the Government can do it. Therefore, the Opposition can bring nothing into Parliament on the 29th. Parliament cannot cut down monetary allocations for the PM because the relevant allocations have already been passed and allocated from the budget,” he said.
Prof. Peiris pointed out that the Presidential Election can be held after January 9 next year only if President Maithripala Sirisena contests as a candidate. Parliament does not have the power to decide on it. Under Section 42.4, of the Constitution, the President appoints the Prime Minister according to his preference.
“If the President appoints the former Prime Minister again, it will be a violation of the Constitution because the President has already revealed to the country how corrupt he was,” Prof. Peiris said.
“The only way out from this complicated situation is holding a General Election and allowing people to decide who their representatives are and which Government they want. There is no other option to solve this issue. All must thank former Minister Basil Rajapaksa for his dedicated service which brought a landslide victory for the SLPP within 16 months of its establishment. The SLPP won 71 percent of electorates at the Local Government Election held in February,” he added.
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