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It began with the first meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday. In the cabinet room, once the well of the house in the former Parliament overlooking the Indian Ocean, new faces mingled with old faces. The building also serves as the Presidential Secretariat. It was the same when the government parliamentary group met at Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister in the afternoon.

The events were capped on Thursday afternoon with a policy statement which President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made to Parliament. Earlier, in the morning, the House met to unanimously elect Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena as Speaker, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya as Deputy Speaker and Angajan Ramanathan as Deputy Chairman of Committees.

The three events this week brought the curtain down on a Parliament then dominated by the Yahapalana regime. That the Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe government went through the same rituals after being voted overwhelmingly to power in January 2015, both at the presidential and August 2015, parliamentary elections, is now another old chapter. Yet, memories were revived among most Sri Lankans as they saw and heard of this week’s events. Those who went left behind some important political landmarks, a handful of achievements, colossal blunders and a litany of bribery and corruption cases – that were enough for students of politics to ponder over for years to come. Pledges of utopian ideals of mountainous proportions were made and the deliveries were mice like. Public confidence eroded like a deadly drought evaporating vast swathes of water.

Former President Sirisena inherited the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leadership after he assumed office. He headed a team of party loyalists and the internecine battles with the main partner, the United National Party (UNP), grew exponentially. At the end of the tenure, he had to return to the Mahinda Rajapaksa fold, though he ousted Rajapaksa earlier, and contested on the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ticket. He and 13 others now represent the SLPP and the only exception is Angajan Ramananthan, SLFP MP from the Jaffna district.

Just last Wednesday, UNP leader Wickremesinghe was ‘ambushed’ at the party headquarters, Siri Kotha, by a group of monks led by the Ven. Thiniyawela Palitha Thera, Chief Incumbent of the Nalandaramaya in Nugegoda. He was appointed by the then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake as a Director of Lanka Hospital. The Thera was accompanied by the Ven. Bopitiye Dhammissara Thera. They asked Wickremesinghe to appoint former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya as the party leader “immediately”. When Wickremesinghe said that these were matters to be discussed at the party’s Working Committee, the monks had thrust an already prepared document and asked Wickremesinghe to sign it. The document said he was giving up the party leadership to Jayasuriya. Wickremesinghe had thrown the document and walked away.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the new Government’s policy statement in Parliament on Thursday. After the event which was broadcast live countrywide, the President is seen being greeted by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and House Leader Dinesh Gunawardena and others before they went for the traditional tea party.

The sum effect of all this today is the absence of a strong voice from the opposition. Key issues thus go unchallenged, like for example Monday’s countrywide power blackout from seven to twelve hours, depending on the area. Energy Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, declared it was the result of “human error” by one person. The parlance is similar to those used when there is an air crash  caused by “pilot error.” Such tragedies, however, are known to cause hundreds of deaths.

The blackout led to billions of rupees in losses and a multitude of difficulties to people. Like the Sinhala adage of being gored by a bull after a fall from a tree, came the power cuts, causing further hardships. In such situations, the danger is when it comes to fulfilling pledges President Rajapaksa made in his policy statement to Parliament on Thursday. Those relating to smaller industrial development sectors and civilian homes require an uninterrupted supply of power. When it is not there, there is no water since it cannot be pumped. That a government is unable to manage such a situation, one need hardly say, drives away foreign investors and even tourists  causing an exceptionally large measure of instability. Most importantly, it undermines public confidence. The provision of electricity is not only an important public utility service but also one that has profoundly serious national security connotations.

It is true that Alahapperuma has held office only for five days but that was enough time to assess what has happened with the help of his own officials. The best example that illustrates the situation is the strong action taken by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. Similarly, he struck hard at the illegal drug mafia and cracked down on the criminal underworld pushing his popularity to a peak. He won accolades for being a doer.

They do diminish to some extent by shock blackouts and power cuts that cause immense hardships to the people. Their confidence in them chips away. Not just because they are kept in the dark but also when they do not know what had gone wrong. Imagine if it happened on the election day or when ministers were sworn in? It is well known that for decades; successive governments have not been able to cope with the country’s power requirements. The projects, however, produced millionaires who benefited from those costly but burdensome projects through kickbacks. Even without blackouts or power cuts, vast areas of Nugegoda that includes the residence of President Rajapaksa, are  subject to breakdowns every week.

Constitutional changes

It was the new Justice Minister, Ali Sabry, who last Wednesday introduced a three-page Cabinet Memorandum titled ‘Draft Bill for amendments to the Constitution’. He noted that the 19th Amendment, approved by Parliament in 2015, contributed to the steady increase in shortcomings in the 1978 Constitution. It was widely believed, he said, that there were adverse consequences to national security, economic development, and day-to-day life.

One of the special features in the 19A was those intended to take effect after a future election. The 19A was certified on May 15, 2015. Hence, the effective date was after Parliamentary election was held. He asserted that this was a gross “under estimation of the sovereignty of the people to amend the supreme law based on the outcome of an election.” The reference was to the presidential election in January 2015.

As is well known, two lawyers, both parliamentarians together with former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, were the prime movers of the 19A. They were Abraham Sumanthiran, a frontliner of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Jayampathy Wickremeratne, a onetime leftist campaigner, who has since taken up a job in Switzerland. They were also key players later in failed efforts to draft a new constitution.

Sabry, who was in the cabinet room for the first time, said the provisions of 19A (Clauses, 9, 15, 28, 29, 30 and 31), due to take effect from the elections (on August 5) were causing adverse consequences. These provisions, Sabry said, relate to paragraph (1), article 46 of the Constitution. Though somewhat technical, the clauses he referred to give an idea of Sabry’s assertion of the “underestimation of the country’s sovereignty.” The references are made briefly to place matters in context though it may be less relevant to the average reader.

Clause 9-

THE EXECUTIVE  – THE CABINET OF MINISTERS

42 (1) There shall be a Cabinet of Ministers charged with the direction and control of the Government of the Republic.

(2) The Cabinet of Ministers shall be collectively responsible and answerable to Parliament.

(3) The President shall be a member of the Cabinet of Ministers and shall be the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers.

(4) The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the President’s opinion is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament.

43 (1) The President shall, in consultation with the Prime Minister, where he considers such consultation to be necessary, determine the number of Ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministries and the assignment of subjects and functions to such Ministers.

(2) The President shall, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint from among Members of Parliament, Ministers, to be in charge of the Ministries so determined.

(3) The President may at any time change the assignment of subjects and functions and the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers. Such changes shall not affect the continuity of the Cabinet of Ministers and the continuity of its responsibility to Parliament.

44. (1) The President may, on the advice of the Prime Minister appoint from among Members of Parliament, Ministers who shall not be members of the Cabinet of Ministers.

(2) The President may, in consultation with the Prime Minister where he considers such consultation to be necessary, determine the assignment of subjects and functions to Ministers appointed under paragraph (1) of this Article and the Ministries, if any, which are to be in charge of, such Ministers.

(3) The President may at any time change any assignment made under paragraph (2).

(4) Every Minister appointed under paragraph (1) shall be responsible to the Cabinet of Ministers and to Parliament.

(5) Any Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers may, by Notification published in the Gazette, delegate to any Minister who is not a member of the Cabinet of Ministers, any power or duty pertaining to any subject or function assigned to such Cabinet Minister, or any power or duty conferred or imposed on him by any written law, and it shall be lawful for such other Minister to exercise and perform any power or duty delegated notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the written law by which that power or duty is conferred or imposed on such Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers.

45. (1)The President may, on the advice of the Prime Minister appoint from among Members of Parliament, Deputy Ministers to assist Ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers in the performance of their duties.

(2) Any Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers may by Notification published in the Gazette, delegate to his Deputy Minister, any power or duty pertaining to any subject or function assigned to him or any power or duty conferred or imposed on him by any written law, and it shall be lawful for such Deputy Minister to exercise and perform any power or duty delegated notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the written law by which that power or duty is conferred or imposed on such Minister….

Section 15

Article 62 of the Constitution is hereby amended by the repeal of paragraph (2) of that Article, and the substitution therefor of the following paragraph:- “(2) Unless Parliament is sooner dissolved, every Parliament shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer, and the expiry of the said period of five years shall operate as a dissolution of Parliament.”

Section 28

Article 111D of the Constitution is hereby repealed, and the following Article substituted therefor:-

111D. (1) There shall be a Judicial Service Commission (in this Chapter referred to as the “Commission”) consisting of the Chief Justice and the two most senior Judges of the Supreme Court appointed by the President, subject to the approval of the Constitutional Council.

(2) Where the Chief Justice and the two most Senior Judges of the Supreme Court are Judges who have not had any judicial experience serving as a Judge of a Court of First Instance, the Commission shall consist of the Chief Justice, the senior most Judge of the Supreme Court and the next most senior Judge of such Court, who has had experience as a Judge of a Court of First Instance.

(3) The Chief Justice shall be the Chairman of the Commission.”

Section 29

Article 111E of the Constitution is hereby amended by the repeal of paragraphs (5) and (6) of that Article and the substitution of the following paragraphs therefor:-

(5) The President may grant to any member of the Commission leave from duties and may appoint subject to the approval of the Constitutional Council, a person qualified to be a member of the Commission to be a temporary member for the period of such leave. (6) The President may, with the approval of the Constitutional Council, and for cause assigned, remove from office any member of the Commission.”.

Section 30

Article 122 of the Constitution is hereby repealed.

Section 31

Article 123 of the Constitution is hereby amended by the repeal of paragraph (3) of that Article. This deals with determinations of the Supreme Court.

Sabry told ministers that ahead of the presidential election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had sought a mandate from the people to introduce a new Constitution. He won that. Again, at the parliamentary election on August 5, a two-thirds win by his government further consolidated his mandate. The voters had endorsed “Saubagye Dekma” (or Vistas of Prosperity).

Sabry said that the removal of the 19A was a “long felt need” and they should “amend it or submit new points as a priority basis.” Nevertheless, he declared that a new Constitution would be imperative after changes in the 19A were carried out. Such a move, he pointed out, should take into consideration the electoral system and the disparity created in education and health due to functions of the Provincial Councils. He also said the Government should address the inefficiency created in the field of taxes, licences, and the legal framework due to devolution. He recommended to ministers a scientific study in this regard and offered a three-pronged proposal:

=  The terms of Parliament and the President should be limited to five years.

=  Limiting the number of terms of President to two.

=  Appoint an expert committee to prepare a Constitution suitable to the country.

For this purpose, he said, a 20A would have to be introduced. Minister Wimal Weerawansa raised issue about a time frame during which the 20A could be introduced. It was pointed out to him by a colleague that it was a complicated situation. Minister Keheliya Rambukwella (now government spokesperson) and Minister Udaya Gammanpila (co-Cabinet spokesperson) expressed the view that the Justice Minister had not spelt out details of what was intended. Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, however, said matters could not be delayed and they should proceed. Premier Rajapaksa said it should be made clear that the 19A was being rescinded except for some provisions. Those being retained relate to the Right to Information law and a few other provisions.

The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the Legal Draftsman (LD) to draft proposals on the three recommendations. Justice Minister Sabry will advise the LD and appoint an Expert Committee to draft a new Constitution. He will submit it for the Attorney General’s approval and publish it in a Gazette thereafter. A five-member ministerial committee – Prof. G.L. Peiris, Dinesh Gunawardena, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Ali Sabry and Udaya Gammanpila – has been appointed to study representations regarding the proposed new constitution and make recommendations to the Cabinet.

Another significant change the Government proposes through the new 20A is to rescind constitutional provisions that prohibit Sri Lankans, who are dual citizens, from contesting elections. This is on the argument that such citizens enjoy all the rights of fellow citizens and it was wrong to deny them the right to take part in the electoral process.

The move, highly-placed government sources hinted yesterday, will also see the return of Basil Rajapaksa to Parliament. At present he serves as the head of a Presidential Task Force on resurrecting the economy besides being the President’s Special Envoy. These sources said that Jayantha Ketagoda, now a staffer at the SLPP office in Battaramulla, will resign to make way for Basil Rajapaksa once the 20A is introduced in Parliament, possibly within two or three months. The 19A introduced a clause to amend Article 91 of the Constitution. Accordingly, it said that “a citizen of Sri Lanka who is also a citizen of any other country” is not eligible to be an MP.

Basil Rajapaksa is likely to receive the earlier portfolio he held under President Mahinda Rajapaksa – Economic Development. Whether it would be accompanied by other portfolios is not immediately clear but what is now known is that he will play a key role in economic development and related matters. With this in mind, he is likely to move to the Treasury complex where an office is being prepared for him. At present, he functions from Temple Trees.

Keeping MPs happy

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa chaired the first meeting of the government parliamentary group at Temple Trees. He announced that the Cabinet had that morning given approval to provide jobs for 50,000 graduates. He told the MPs that they would have to be selected from the poorest of the poor and was part of a programme to recruit 100,000 graduates to the state sector. He also announced that the Government would introduce a 20A to replace most provisions of the 19 A.

Premier Rajapaksa also told them about the Vote on Account that was tabled on Friday. He told MPs to be ready for the debate on August 27 and 28. In February, this year, the previous Yahapalana government’s MPs stymied efforts by the SLPP-led alliance to move a Vote on Account to obtain an additional Rs 367 million for government expenditure. The move will be a precursor to the introduction of the government’s first budget after the 20A takes effect.

Allowing MPs to recommend “poorest of the poor” nominees for jobs would no doubt strengthen their positions in their own electorates. This is particularly at the time when Provincial Council elections are held.

President’s policy statement

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s eight-page policy statement to Parliament was focused almost entirely on domestic matters and did not refer to external relations or foreign policy issues. If he had enunciated foreign policy issues, it would no doubt have been a good opportunity to have drawn the attention of members of the diplomatic community present in the Speaker’s Gallery. Noting that 6.9 million people have given “a decisive mandate” to him, he declared that “the historic mandate (at the parliamentary election) received by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has proven that people were impressed the way we have governed during the past nine months despite obstacles.”

In what seemed an acknowledgement of a larger majority of Sinhala Buddhist votes his SLPP-led government polled, he asserted, “In accordance with the supreme Constitution of our country, I have pledged to protect the unitary status of the country and to protect and nurture the Buddha Sasana during my tenure. Accordingly, I have set up an advisory council comprising leading Buddhist monks to seek advice on governance. I have also established a Presidential Task Force to protect places of archaeological importance and to preserve our Buddhist heritage.” Whilst ensuring priority for Buddhism, President Rajapaksa said, “it is now clear to the people that freedom of any citizen to practice the religion of his or her choice is better secured.”

Responding obviously to criticism over the structuring of new ministries and their titles, he said “in order to overcome both local and global challenges and revive the economy, we will have to adopt new ways of thinking. Out of the box thinking is required in order to meet economic challenges. This time, the ministries have been formed with this thought in mind.” He admitted that due to the shutting down of tea factories, tea estate owners had encountered a number of difficulties and pledged to re-start them.

He noted that an unstable Parliament that cannot take firm decisions and succumbs to extremist influences very often is not suitable for the country. He said “whilst introducing a new constitution, it is essential to make changes to the current electoral system. While retaining the salutary aspects of the proportional representation system, changes will be made to ensure stability of Parliament.” Eradicating corruption, he said, is “a core responsibility of all of us.” He pledged, “I will not hesitate to enforce the law against those who are involved in fraud and corrupt actions, irrespective of the status of any such perpetrators.”

Commenting on the Constitution, he said it has been amended 19 times since its introduction in 1978. He said, “As people have given us the mandate we wanted for a constitutional amendment; our first task will be to remove 19th amendment to the Constitution. After that, all of us will get together to formulate a new constitution suitable for the country. In this, the priority will be given to the concept of one country, one law for all the people.”

He did not fail to refer to the security situation of the country, which he said, was “badly dented” after the attacks on Easter Sunday. Stressing that the “prime policy of our government is national security,” he said, “we have restructured the security apparatus and intelligence services, eliminating the fears of the people.” There was also a subtle word of caution. President Rajapaksa said he will review the progress of the Government’s goals that are implemented through ministries. “I will not hesitate to effect necessary changes,” he added.

On Friday, there was a debate on the President’s policy statement. Gajan Ponnambalam, the Jaffna district’s newly elected MP, who represents Ahila Ilankai Tamil Congress (All Ceylon Tamil Congress), in his speech accused the Sri Lanka armed forces of violating international laws and committing war crimes. State Minister Sarath Weerasekera raised a point of order. He said no one had made such accusations. However, Deputy Chairman of Committees, Angajan Ramanathan, who was in the chair ruled that there was no point of order. Then, Mahinda Samarasinghe said that the ruling violated Standing Orders. The former Minister who had led Sri Lanka delegations to the UN Human Rights Council and a parliamentarian for 26 years, pointed out that he Weerasekera’s objections should have been accepted. He argued that no one could mislead Parliament. The episode is no doubt a forerunner to what Ponnambalam, a hard-line MP from the North would raise in the future together with his colleague, former Northern Province Chief Minister and now parliamentarian, C.V. Wigneswaran, a former Supreme Court judge.

Sarath Fonseka (SJB – Gampaha district) was critical of the speech made by former President Maithripala Sirisena. He had referred to pests attacking cultivations and other mundane issues. He charged that Sirisena had not explained why he did not hurriedly return to Sri Lanka from Singapore after the massacres on Easter Sunday in April last year. Fonseka, a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee that probed the matter said, Sirisena had declared there were no flights. However, the committee made inquiries and found that there were both SriLankan Airlines and Singapore Airlines flights available if he in fact wanted to return immediately.

Crisis in Tamil National Alliance

More than two weeks after the parliamentary elections, fissures in the TNA continue. The tussle is between Abraham Sumanthiran and  Sivanayakam Sritharan on the one hand and a group comprising Mavai Senathirajah, Selvam Adaikalanathan and Dharmalingam Siddharthan on the other. On Friday, a TNA delegation had a 90-minute meeting with Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay at the India House, his official residence.

A TNA statement said, “The High Commissioner congratulated the Tamil National Alliance on being returned to Parliament and assured India’s continuing commitments to finding a resolution to the Tamil national question in Sri Lanka.” Although the statement did not say so, Baglay had also advised the alliance members to remain united.

However, a more significant event took place at a meeting in the evening at the Colombo residence of TNA leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan. The group opposed to Sumanthiran urged Sampanthan to remove Sumanthiran from his posts as spokesperson of the alliance and its Parliamentary group. Though Sumanthiran was invited, he did not attend the meeting. TNA sources said Sampanthan had agreed to heed the request, a move which would continue the factional battle.

Now that a Cabinet of Ministers is in place and there is a functioning Parliament, the focus turns on the government again. The new Government has to not only deliver but do so in keeping with the pledges it made. An area of greater interest is how it is going to deal with the outcome of ongoing investigations, particularly into the massacres on Easter Sunday last year and the Central Bank bond scandal. Though sceptical, the public wait in awe.