COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Cabinet is set to discuss the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which would give Parliament more control over the executive president.
After repealing the 19th Amendment, the 21st Amendment is expected to repeal the 20A of the Constitution, which provides President Gotabaya Rajapaksa unrestricted powers. The proposed amendment's draught would be presented to the Cabinet on Monday, according to constitutional affairs minister Wijedasa Rajapaksha.
"It will be discussed today (Monday) and, if approved, might be delivered to the legal draughtsman for finalisation within 2-3 days," he stated. He said that the majority of the revisions proposed by political parties in the draught during a meeting on Friday had been incorporated. On Friday, the government reported that the majority of the parties' concerns had been addressed and agreed upon.
The biggest opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), disagreed, claiming that the government should wait for the Supreme Court to rule on their draught paper on the amendment. The SJB has accused the government of watering down the amendment in order to keep President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in office.
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