22nd Amendment to the Constitution passed

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was passed in Parliament with amendments by majority vote.

It will be added to the constitution of Sri Lanka as the 21st Amendment.

174 votes were cast in favor of the amendment during the third reading in Parliament, while no one voted against it.

However, during the second reading of the amendment 179 votes were cast in favor, and Dr. Sarath Weerasekera exercised his vote against it.

Six MPs who were in parliament during the vote for the second reading were not present for the vote for the third reading.

The Samagi Jana Banavegaya, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Tamil National Alliance, and the National People's Power voted in favor of the constitutional amendment.

Notably, over 40 Members of Parliament were not present in the chamber when the vote was taken up.

This constitutional amendment features the inclusion of the constitutional council and enforcement of the Independent Commissions.

Anyone who is a dual citizen will no longer be allowed to be a member of Parliament, and present dual-citizen MPs will also lose their seats.

The constitutional amendment also allows the President to dissolve the parliament after 2 and a half years of the parliament being elected.

In addition, the Opposition Leader will also have to consult when appointing civil society members to the constitutional council.