19th Amendment remains a bill and has not become law due to the lack of a referendum:
Seeks order directing Parliament SG to hold a referendum to properly enact 19th Amendment:
A Fundamental Rights petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, asserting that holding a Presidential Election without the proper enactment of the 19th Constitutional Amendment into law violates the fundamental rights of the people of Sri Lanka.
The petition requests an order to hold a referendum for the approval of the 19th Constitutional Amendment before conducting the Presidential Election.
The petition, filed by Attorney Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna, names the Secretary General of Parliament and the Attorney General as respondents.
The petition states that the 19th Constitutional Amendment, which was introduced in 2022 to amend several constitutional provisions, including Article 70, has not yet been duly enacted into law. It further mentions that petitions concerning the constitutionality of the proposed amendment were reviewed by the Supreme Court.
The petition emphasises that for the amendment to become law, it must be approved by the people in a referendum and certified by the President.
The petition references a past incident in 2018 when the then-President dissolved Parliament, which led to a fundamental rights petition being filed in the Supreme Court.
The Court, with a panel of seven judges, invalidated the gazette notification dissolving Parliament, highlighting that Article 70(1) of the Constitution takes precedence over Article 33(2).
The petitioner argues that the 19th Constitutional Amendment remains a Bill and has not become law due to the lack of a referendum. Consequently, the decision of the Election Commission to proceed with the presidential election, treating the Bill as law, is being challenged.
The petitioner claims that holding a presidential election based on a Bill not duly enacted into law violates the fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 12(1) of the Constitution.
Therefore, the petition seeks an order from the Court directing the Secretary General of Parliament to hold a referendum to properly enact the 19th Constitutional Amendment before conducting the presidential election.
Nelka Medagedara