News
Deputy Speaker post: Crucial test for Govt. and opposition
A crucial test for the Government and Opposition looms when Parliament meets on Wednesday over the election of a new Deputy Speaker.
Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s (SLFP) Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told a media briefing yesterday that he would no longer function as Deputy Speaker after April 30 and the first item on Parliament’s agenda when it meets on Wednesday will be to elect a new Deputy Speaker. Mr Siyamabalapitiya submitted his resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa soon after the SLFP members quit the Government and sat as independents in Parliament with another group of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs. President Rajapaksa, however, refused to accept the resignation and urged the Deputy Speaker to continue in his role.
He subsequently told Parliament that he would stay at his post until the end of April without enjoying any perks offered by Parliament for the position in the hope that the prevailing crisis would be resolved by then. He told the media yesterday that he would stick to his word and would no longer function as Deputy Speaker after April 30.
The House can elect a new Deputy Speaker unanimously. In the event two names are proposed, the Deputy Speaker will be elected via a secret ballot.
Both the Government and the Opposition are planning to propose names for the post. The Government intends to propose SLPP MP Dilan Perera’s name and has “no doubt whatsoever” of winning any election held for the post, SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam told the Sunday Times yesterday.
Discussions are underway between various Opposition parties on whom to propose for the post from their side, said SLPP MP Weerasumana Weerasinghe, who is part of the 41 independent group of MPs sitting with the Opposition.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will hand over its No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against the Government to the Speaker in the coming week, Party General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said.
Several political parties and MPs have said they would not support the NCM while others have been wary of the move, saying it could provide a boost to a Government on the back foot if the NCM is defeated. The SJB General Secretary, though, dismissed concerns that it lacked the numbers to push the NCM through, adding that the party would discuss the passage of the NCM with other opposition parties.
The independent group of MPs is open to the idea of supporting an NCM if the crisis dragged on without a resolution, said Parliamentarian Weerasinghe. He, however, stressed that their group’s main focus is to set up a “National Consensus Government” consisting of all parties represented in Parliament as an interim measure. The group, which met President Rajapaksa on Friday, has also proposed establishing a National Council (NC) with the participation of the leaders of all political parties in Parliament.
“The President is prepared to appoint a new PM and a new Cabinet. It can’t be a Government made up of just SLPP MPs. That is what we intend to discuss with the other parties. It is not an easy task to convince everyone on this, given the widely differing views among various parties. Even if they don’t want to join such a Government, we will urge them to join the NC as that will be the body that will advise the Government on policy,” Mr Weerasinghe explained.
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