Colombo: The UNP has stepped up pressure on President Maithripala Sirisena to abolish the post of executive presidency without further delay or face the consequences. Key government strategist MP Jayampathy Wickramaratne, spearheading the new constitution-making process and Deputy Minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ajith Perera said that their post-presidential election understanding with President Sirisena in respect of the abolition of executive presidency wasn’t negotiable.
Addressing a meeting organised by a trade union collective backing ongoing high profile government project to introduce the new Constitution. Among those on the podium were Health Minister and government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne, UNP Badulla District MP A Aravindh Kumar, Convenor of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) Sarath Wijesooriya and trade union activist Saman Ratnapriya.
Wickramaratne said the UNP had backed Maithripala Sirisena’s candidature as he had accepted to do away with the executive presidency. Had Sirisena not accepted that, the UNP wouldn’t have backed him at January 2015 presidential polls, the MP said. According to Wickramaratne, the executive presidency should have been abolished during President Sirisena’s 100-day programme. However, that plan had to be abandoned as President Sirisena couldn’t muster the required support among UPFA MPs. The constitutional affairs expert said that had they been able to keep to their original plan a referendum would have taken place ahead of the parliamentary polls in 2015 August.
Asserting that President Sirisena remained committed to abolish executive presidency in accordance with his understanding with the late Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha and the UNP, Wickramaratne said the SLFP should support President Sirisena to fulfil his obligations. Wickramaratne insisted that their flexibility on those issues shouldn’t be construed as readiness to give up the insistence on a referendum.
Comparing President Sirisena’s promised stand on a new Constitution with that of his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa, who in his manifesto for the last presidential poll had promised a new Constitution, Wickramaratne said that both would have had to adopt the same path, namely referendum followed by a two-thirds majority in parliament.
Wickramaratne discussed the reports that had been submitted by six sub committees that dealt with fundamental rights, judiciary, law and order, public finance, public service and centre - periphery relations. He also explained the Steering Committee’s interim report that dealt with six vital subjects, nature of the state, executive, parliamentary elections, principles of devolution, religion and state land.
The MP claimed that they hadn’t even thought of a Draft Constitution yet.
Deputy Minister Perera alleged that some leaders had directed their henchmen to justify the continuation of the executive presidency so that they could contest again. The UNPer warned that had they failed to reach consensus on far reaching constitutional reforms soon, there would be another presidential election in three years. He said that it would be a grave mistake on the SLFP’s part to believe pressure could be applied on the UNP to give up its push to abolish executive presidency.
