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One final attempt will be made by Parliament, in the coming two days, to pass the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, after two previous attempts failed due to disagreements within the UPFA, as well as the fracas caused over the decision to summon former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Bribery Commission. The 19th Amendment will be taken up for debate tomorrow and put to a vote on Tuesday evening, but whether it will get the final nod from two-thirds of the members, as required to enact it, is uncertain. Much depends on President Maithripala Sirisena’s ability to convince those in the UPFA, the constituent majority in the 225-Member Legislature, to vote for the Amendment, which intends to reduce some of the executive powers of the President, as well as set up several important independent Commissions,

For President Sirisena, the challenge has been to win the support of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) members, UPFA’s largest constituent party, but the shadow of his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa continues to hamper the new President’s efforts to rein in his Party members. The disruptive nature of some of those loyal to the former President was evident in Parliament on Monday when, angered by the decision to summon the former president to the Bribery Commission, over 60 MPs decided to hold an overnight ‘sit in’ protest in the well of the House.

Their grouse was that the Director General (DG) of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (CIABOC) had overstepped her authority by summoning the former president to the Commission premises, and that, the Government is engaged in a witch-hunt against members of the Rajapaksa family. Over 113 MPs also signed a document expressing their displeasure at the Bribery DG’s conduct, and asked the Speaker to safeguard the rights of MPs, several of whom have been summoned to the Commission since the new Government took power.

While the sit-in protest attracted plenty of publicity for the protesting MPs and provided fodder for the media, some of the reports emanating from the House about their behaviour during their all-nighter were rather unsavory. By Tuesday morning, the protesting MPs decided to return to their seats, after Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa assured them that, if legislators are to be questioned by Bribery Commission officials in the future, they would keep him informed. He also said that Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe had informed him that a team of Bribery Commission officials will visit the ex-President to obtain a statement from him, instead of him going over to the Commission premises.

The Speaker, to his credit, managed to edge himself out of a rather tricky situation, having, on one hand, to balance his role of safeguarding the rights and privileges of MPs, while on the other, of not showing too much sympathy towards the plight of his brother, the former President. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who spoke after the Speaker’ ruling, asked why some MPs are trying to safeguard thieves and trying to stop investigations into theft of public funds. “Is it thieves who are standing up for thieves,” he asked?. Leader of the Opposition Nimal Siripala De Silva said they were not against investigations being conducted against wrongdoers, but there should be no witch-hunt against members of the former regime. “Some courtesy should be shown when a statement is being recorded from a former leader,” Mr De Silva said.

While an appearance by former strongman in the Rajapaksa regime, Basil Rajapaksa, who arrived in the country after a lapse of three months, was expected on Tuesday afternoon, the decision to adjourn the House early meant he could not attend sittings. Being in prison will not be an impediment to MP Basil Rajapaksa attending sittings tomorrow, once again the 19th Amendment is likely to be overshadowed by another Rajapaksa, this time the presence of the President’s brother.