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It’s 19A minus minus: Opposition slams 22A as a sham
View(s):By Sandun Jayawardana
Opposition parties have labelled the draft 22nd Constitutional Amendment as a sham, stating that it does not significantly curtail the powers of the President and is a drastic dilution of the 19th Amendment.
Opposition politicians told the Sunday Times that the draft amendment fell far short of what the government had initially promised. When President Gotabaya Rajapaksa addressed the nation on May 11, he promised to bring back the 19th Amendment and even said he was open to abolishing the Executive Presidency, Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella pointed out. “Yet what they are bringing now is not 19 or even 19 minus. It’s 19 minus, minus.”
There are three key concerns regarding the 22A draft in relation to powers that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will retain, Mr Kiriella said. Firstly, he will still retain power to dismiss the Prime Minister. The restrictions on the President’s powers in appointing Cabinet Ministers and allocating subjects and functions to Ministers will only come into operation from the next Parliament. Thirdly, the Constitutional Council (CC) composition has been manipulated to ensure that the government will be in the majority there.
“They are not giving what the people want but what they want for themselves. This shows they have no plans to reconcile with the opposition or even the international community. I feel they will struggle to get a 2/3 majority to pass this and don’t believe this will help them to get aid,” the MP said.
National People’s Power (NPP) MP Vijitha Herath said the draft 22A is extremely weak and allows President Rajapaksa to retain many of the powers he enjoys under 20A. “What’s the use of waiting till the end of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term to curtail Presidential powers? It is because of him that this problem even arose.”
The NPP, however, has made no decision so far on whether to support the draft amendment, Mr Herath said. That will depend on whether the government is willing to accept proposals the party intends to present to amend the 22A draft.
Sri Lanka Freedom Party General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara said many parties including the SLFP, wanted to reintroduce provisions in the 19th Amendment that reduced executive powers. “It is ridiculous that they are talking about interim clauses that will allow the current President to retain most of his powers. That is not what people want.”
Justice and Constitutional Reforms Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe those who criticise the draft amendment should be aware of what could be introduced without needing to go for a referendum. Legal drafting and Constitutional drafting are separate subjects. If the opposition knew this, they would not be in a situation where the Supreme Court found most of their draft 21st Amendment needed a referendum to pass, he claimed.
Mr Rajapakshe accepted that certain parts of 19A had been diluted under the proposed draft amendment, yet there were new progressive elements in it too, he argued. For example, it inserts a clause that the appointment of the Central Bank Governor too must be approved by the CC. The 19th Amendment also included a clause that allowed the size of the Cabinet to be increased under the guise of forming a “national government.” This provision has been removed under the new amendment.
President Rajapaksa had wanted powers to dismiss the PM in an emergency as the premier is not a member of the SLPP and holds just one seat in Parliament, making it entirely possible that he could lose Parliament’s confidence, the Justice Minister said. He added that the stark reality is that 22A’s passage depends largely on the support of the SLPP. “Anybody is free to accept or reject the amendment I have brought. I have done my duty. I was sworn in as Justice Minister on May 20 and I presented the draft amendment to Cabinet the following day.”
Given time for the amendment to be challenged in the Supreme Court and for it to give its determination, Minister Rajapakshe expects the amendment to be taken up for debate in Parliament anytime after August 7.
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