A Parliamentary Select Committee will be appointed to probe the delays by the Constitutional Council in approving names to high posts in Sri Lanka, President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced today (Nov 23).
The President made the remarks after an intense discussion was held in Parliament on the matter concerning the delays by the Constitutional Council in approving names to high posts in Sri Lanka.
He further said that this has resulted in Sri Lanka not having an Inspector General of Police (IGP) and judges, adding that the Police and Judiciary cannot function.
Commenting on the matter concerning the appointment of Court of Appeal President Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne to the Supreme Court, the President said he was unaware of the reason for the delay.
“It was a name nominated by the Chief Justice that was put forward to the Constitutional Council by me,” he clarified.
The President stressed that the necessary decisions could not be taken if certain members of the Constitutional Council were working from inside to sabotage the efforts of the council.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe said, therefore, it has been decided to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee to debate the matters related to the Constitutional Council.
“Today we can’t make appointments to the Police Department or the Judiciary. The Speaker has sent a letter to the Constitutional Council and they have responded stating that they cannot make a decision. One member is yet to be appointed to the Constitutional Council. 6 of the council members are split on the decision, while two are abstaining from voting leading to the appointments being delayed,” he revealed in Parliament.
The President also pointed out that they are unable to appoint an Anti-Corruption Commission despite the laws being passed due to similar issues with the Constitutional Council.
“This Council comes under the Executive, even though it is considered a Parliamentary Committee and the Constitutional Council. The Council is tasked with studying the eligibility of the names nominated by the President for appointments to high posts. So as the Executive I have taken the necessary action in this regard,” he added.
The President made the remarks in response to questions raised by Opposition MPs Sajith Premadasa, Harsha de Silva, and Rauf Hakeem.
A long discussion took place, thereafter, between the President and Opposition Leader MP Sajith Premadasa on the matters concerning the Constitutional Council.
The discussion also primarily focused on the delay in appointing Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Dharmalingam Sithadthan as the last member of the Council, as nominated by the opposition.
Opposition leader MP Sajith Premadasa alleged that the Speaker has failed to appoint MP Sithadthan to the Constitutional Council as proposed by the TNA and that the Opposition cannot take the blame for the inaction of the Speaker. (NewsWire)