By Newswire Editorial
Deputy Speaker Rizvi Saleh informed Parliament today (06) that five requests to raise questions of parliamentary privilege, submitted by Opposition MPs, have been rejected as they do not establish a breach of parliamentary privilege.
Reading an announcement issued by the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker said the requests had been submitted by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and MPs Dayasiri Jayasekara, Mano Ganesan, Mujibur Rahman and Chanaka Madagoda.
He said that following an examination of the requests under the Standing Orders of Parliament and the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act No. 21 of 1953, none of the matters raised established a prima facie breach of parliamentary privilege warranting consideration under Standing Order 118.
The Deputy Speaker explained that matters relating to parliamentary procedures, the inclusion of business in the Order Book and the scheduling of parliamentary proceedings are procedural matters and cannot be treated as breaches of parliamentary privilege.
He further referred to a ruling issued by the Speaker on October 06, which established that administrative decisions concerning parliamentary business and the allocation of debate time cannot be challenged through questions of privilege.
Referring to the no-confidence motion against the Speaker, Saleh said the Committee on Parliamentary Business had provided an opportunity to submit an amended motion by removing matters considered sub judice.
However, as no amended motion was submitted within the stipulated period, there was no unconditional right to debate the original motion.
The Deputy Speaker also noted that the matters raised did not constitute offences under the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act.
Accordingly, he informed the House that all five requests failed to meet the requirements for raising questions of privilege under Standing Order 118 and that there were no grounds to proceed with them.
Earlier this week, several Opposition MPs raised questions of privilege in Parliament, including concerns relating to the handling of the no-confidence motion against the Speaker.
At the time, the Deputy Speaker announced that a decision on the five requests would be communicated to Parliament today, following an examination of the matters raised. (Newswire)