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When it was announced that President-elect Ranil Wickremesinghe will swear-in inside the Parliament complex on Thursday, there were many speculations about the location. Some indicated it would be at the Speaker’s Office but ultimately it was selected to be a Parliament hallway where the official portraits of former government leaders are hung on the wall. The place was selected and the table was placed in the middle in a way that portraits of foregone leaders of the United National Party (UNP) are visible in the background. The one in the middle is none other than first Executive President

J. R. Jayewardene who is the architect of the Presidential system and along with the
late D. B. Wijethunga and late Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala.

The swearing-in ceremony was briefly disrupted when the power went off just before taking oath resulting in the disruption of the live broadcasting of the event. An inquiry was launched to probe the incident.

Harin’s hard work pays dividends

Former Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Vice Chairman Harin Fernando admitted to journalists after Wednesday’s vote to elect the President that he worked hard behind the scenes to convince some of his former SJB colleagues to cast their ballot for Ranil Wickremesinghe.  

Mr Fernando crossed over with SJB MP Manusha Nanayakkara to take up Cabinet posts in the government set up under then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Both Fernando and Nanayakkara had been talking to SJB MPs in the opposition in the days leading up to the vote, trying to convince them to switch sides.  “I didn’t sleep a wink last night,” Mr Fernando said when a journalist asked him how hard he worked to get votes for
Mr Wickremesinghe.

RW and AKD gun for each other

The secret ballot voting on Wednesday was historic on many grounds- it was not the first time Parliament convened to elect a President to fill the vacancy of the office of Executive Presidency but it was the first time when a sole MP who entered Parliament through the National List was elevated to the highest office of the land.

When Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe was entering the parliamentary chamber, he happened to meet the leader of the Peoples Liberation Front (JVP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake who has been critical of the appointment of Mr Wickremesinghe throughout his appointment as Prime Minister in May alleging he did not have a political mandate to occupy those offices.

President Wickremesinghe asked the JVP leader an unexpected question: “Where are the two guns?” While the latter was taken aback by the question, President explained about the guns that were stolen from army personnel during a protest outside Parliament recently.

The JVP leader shot back (pun intended) to say that the President needs to ask those who took them. President Wickremesinghe was heard saying to the JVP leader; “Anyway, return them to the military soon,” before he walked away towards the chamber.

They come through the vote but don’t know how to vote

Wednesday’s historic secret ballot to elect the new President was one of the rare occasions where all 225 MPs were present in the House at the same time. All MPs including the Speaker were entitled to a vote and only the two MPs from the Ahila Ilankai Tamil Congress (AITC) chose to abstain.

With each MP called upon by name to cast their vote, it took more than two hours. There were some interesting moments.

Despite the Secretary-General, who acted as Returning Officer, clearly stating that mobile phones were not allowed in the voting area, at least one MP walked up with his phone, which was promptly confiscated. Another quipped loudly to officials that there were “so many doctors” in Parliament. One MP asked whether they had to use a “pencil or pen” to mark their ballot paper. Officials replied that he could use either. These are those who come to Parliament by the vote !

UNP Chairman duly rewarded for getting his Leader to the top

United National Party Chairman Vajira Abeywardena was busy throughout the week ensuring adequate votes were secured to confirm the elevation of the UNP leader to the office of Executive Presidency.

His team, consisting of some university lecturers who gathered at his residence came up with the number of 140 votes that would be in favour of President-elect Wickremesinghe.

Earlier, he had called up almost every MP from the main Opposition party- Samagi Jana Balawegay to convince them to extend support to the Acting President considering the state of the country’s economy and stability.

He did not stop there. He had forwarded e-mails and Whatsapp messages that contained  the speech made by former Prime Minister late Sirimavo Bandaranaike during the election of D.B. Wijethunga as President on May 7 1993 to convince some MPS who were undecided.

In the secret ballot voting, Mr Wickremesinghe was elected as President to the Executive office after securing 134 votes with a comfortable margin of 52 votes. Mr. Abeywardene has been duly rewarded by getting appointed to the vacant seat in the House of Mr. Wickremesinghe.

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report: SL goes to Tier 2 from Tier 2 Watch List

Whether Sri Lanka improves its rankings in global surveys on various topics given recent developments in the country, especially in human trafficking, thousands of Sri Lankans continue to line up in front of the Department of Immigration and Emigration to leave the country.

This week, the 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report released by the United States Department of State, has upgraded Sri Lanka to Tier 2 from the Tier 2 Watch List.

The report also indicated that
Sri Lanka remained on the Tier 2 Watch List for the last three years but the Sri Lankan government did not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking although it was making significant efforts to do so.

Noting the steps taken by the government to minimise human trafficking, the report said Sri Lanka was upgraded to Tier 2 as the government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity.

Courts encouraged to use tech tools

Courts have been issued with directions, including the use of information technology, to continue hearings with minimum disruption to litigants and employees amid the severe economic crisis in the country.

Many District Courts, Magistrate’s Courts, and High Courts are functioning on a rotation basis.

The Judicial Service Commission says in a circular, that priority should be given to call essential and urgent matters in open court and the remainder of cases listed be rescheduled by way of notices.

Considering the fuel scarcity, only the minimum number of court workers needed should report to duty.

Judges and the judicial officers are authorised to decide whether all cases in the case list for the day should be called in open court, or only a part of the cases should be called.

A notice about cases that are called will be posted at the entrance to the courts.

The commission also advises the use of video technology in granting bail, and extension of remand period of suspects, or accused in custody.

The commission also cautions when issuing warrants and making adverse default orders for non appearance, so that they are made with consideration and not indiscriminately.

Trials, inquiries, or calling matters should be attended with the use of remote communication technology in consultation with all stakeholders, depending on the availability of resources.

SC rejects FR petition challenging validity of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Parliamentary seat

The Constitution does not impose a mandatory time limit for a political party or independent group to nominate a person to fill a National List Parliamentary seat, the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled.

A three-judge bench of the SC made this ruling when it rejected a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition filed challenging the validity of then Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Parliamentary seat.

The petitioner, Attorney-at-Law Nagananda Kodithuwakku, had sought a court order preventing Mr Wickremesinghe from serving as an MP and exercising his franchise in Parliament.

Mr Kodithuwakku claimed that as per Article 99A of the Constitution, it was incumbent on the Secretary of the United National Party (UNP) to nominate a person to fill the one seat obtained by the party on the National List at the General Elections 2020 within one week of the intimation made by the Election Commission. This was not done. As such, it was the contention of the petitioner that due to this failure by the UNP, Mr Wickremesinghe’s appointment as an MP was void and has no force in law.

The bench, comprising Justices E A G R Amarasekara, Shiran Gooneratne and Janak De Silva observed that if the court were to accept the submission of the petitioner and hold that the appointment of Mr Wickremesinghe is bad in law due to failure to comply with the one-week time frame, it will amount to the abridgment of the fundamental rights of the voters who voted for the UNP for no fault of theirs and a violation of the sovereignty of the people who voted for the UNP. Moreover, if the Court is to accept the submission of the petitioner, it would amount to Court adding words to Article 99A of the Constitution which is not permissible, it further added.

Furthermore, Article 69 of the Constitution establishes the power of Parliament to act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership.

“We hold that the time limit of one-week in Article 99A is directory and not mandatory,” the ruling stressed.

Mr Kodithuwakku represented himself. Ronald Perera, PC with Eraj De Silva appeared for Mr Wickremesinghe. Deputy Solicitor General Kanishka Balapatabendi with State Counsel I Randeni appeared for the Attorney General.