Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) on Tuesday moved an adjournment motion to abolish the executive presidency saying that majority of the people of the country favor to usurp the power from a single individual.
Adjournment Motion on "Abolition of Executive Presidency" was proposed by JVP MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.
The United National Party (UNP) led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament that they will support moves to slash the powers of the President and requested the rest of Parliament to support the JVP's motion to abolish the Executive Presidency.
Earlier in the year, the JVP as a private member's motion presented the 20th amendment to the Constitution to parliament to abolish the executive presidency and requested all political parties to support it.
According to the proposed 20th Amendment, the President is elected from Parliament with a secret ballot by a simple majority and should not hold any position of a political party nor could be a member of any political party during his tenure.
JVP MP Vijitha Herath said during the past 50 days the people firsthand learned valuable lessons how an executive presidency can violate the constitution and fundamental rights of the people.
He pointed out that although the parliament was not in session during the political crisis, the 20th amendment submitted in May 2018 is still valid.
Speaking during the debate UNP MP Malik Samarawickrema said the recent events showed why the Executive Presidency must be abolished. He said the UNP would support the motion and urged all other parliamentarians also to support the JVP motion.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) also expressed their support for the motion.
Source : Colombo Page
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