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Clash
brews over two 'urgent' bills in parliament
Much of the rumpus has been about the bill that seeks to make National Identity Cards mandatory for voters in elections. Opposition parties are questioning the urgency to push through the bill when the next election - the presidential poll - is one year and four months away. The proposed legislation titled Elections (Special Provisions) Bill will make identification an essential criterion for voters at all local and national elections as well as referenda. The other bill which is the bone of contention between the government and the opposition, seeks to impose a 100 per cent tax on foreigners buying land in Sri Lanka. The days for debate of the bills have been set for 18, 19 and 20 of this month. The two bills have been referred to the Supreme Court by the President for determination on their constitutionality. The Supreme Court's ruling on these two bills have been handed over to Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara who is expected to announce them when sittings resume on Tuesday, The Sunday Times learns. Opposition parties are discussing what course of action to take if the bills are taken up for debate without giving them enough time to study them. The UNP and the JHU have both expressed concern over the manner in which the bills are being brought to Parliament. Matters came to a head at last week's party leaders meeting with the two UNP representatives, Karu Jayasuriya and Joseph Michael Perera, walking out after government leaders insisted that the two bills should be passed this week. The government leaders are reported to have insisted that when the Cabinet determined a bill was urgent in the national interest, it could bypass the normal passage of being gazetted and placed on the order paper of Parliament. However, opposition parties point out that if a bill is labelled as urgent and referred to the Supreme Court by the President without its contents not being made public, it eliminates the right of any citizen to petition the Supreme Court challenging a bill within one week of the first reading of a bill. The Supreme Court is required to send its determination within three days and once the Speaker announces it in Parliament, the bills can be debated and passed on the same day if the minister in charge of the subject so wishes. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's determination on the bill to stop unethical conversions is also likely to be announced on Tuesday by the Speaker. |
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