CC heading for another crisis

Another crisis seems to be developing in the task of reconstituting the defunct Constitutional Council with the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) likely to make a fresh nomination after objecting to the manner in which the former Auditor General S.C.Mayadunne has been nominated to fill the remaining vacancy in the 10 -member Council.

The JHU is objecting that the party was not consulted in finalizing the name of Mr. Mayadunne and pointed out that the other parties including the JVP which nominated the former Auditor General had no right to make the nomination. The JHU had earlier nominated the name of former Solicitor General Douglas Premaratna, but some of the other parties were not agreeable.

The Organisation of Professionals Association (OPA) intervened to finalise the nomination in view of the failure of the political parties to reach a consensus and make a suitable nomination. The OPA had a series of deliberations with the JVP, TNA, SLMC, CWC, JHU and the UPF in a bid to break a deadlock in finalizing the nomination of the member to be recommended by the minority political parties in Parliament.

The other members of the Council are the Prime Minister, the Speaker, Opposition Leader in Parliament, one nominee of the President, five persons appointed by the President on the nomination of both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader and one person nominated by other minority parties.

Nomination of three of the five members by the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader should be done in consultation with the MPs of minority communities. The JHU had taken up the position that the JVP had no right to make a nomination as it contested the 2004 Parliamentary elections under the UPFA ticket and that the TNA, SLMC and the UPF had also made their nominations by filling three positions entitled to minority communities.

The TNA, SLMC, JVP and UPF have all agreed on Mr. Mayadunne and three of them have accordingly conveyed their position to the Speaker. The failure to re-constitute the Constitutional Council for the past four years has prompted President Mahinda Rajapaksa to go ahead to make appointments in the absence of the Independent Commissions, including the Public Service and National Police Commission.

JHU spokesman Udaya Gamanpila told The Sunday Times that his party was not opposed to Mr Mayadunne who was a respected former public servant, but were opposed only to the manner in which the nomination had been made.He claimed neither the OPA nor the Speaker had consulted his party when the final nomination was made.

Mr. Gamanpila, however said the issue is being taken up at the central committee of the party which meets on Tuesday and it was hoped a decision on the matter would be taken. The JHU had earlier nominated former Solicitor General Douglas Premaratna, but some of the other parties were not agreeable.