COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s parliament voted Friday (Oct 21) in order to curtail the capabilities of the president, a partial concession towards the protest movement that will forced the island nation’s former mind of state into exile.
An unprecedented economic downturn this year fuelled intensive public anger, with all the government accused of mismanagement and of precipitating drastic food and gas shortages.
Months of protests culminated in July with a huge crowd storming the official residence of then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country under military escort and issued his resignation through Singapore.
His successor Ranil Wickremesinghe took charge pledging to curb the sweeping powers of his office, which had been expanded simply by Rajapaksa’s administration.
Parliament voted overwhelmingly to endorse the constitutional amendment that will limited presidential control over the police, the judiciary and appointments to the civil service.
“From the people’s point of view, this is a good Costs and that is why we support it, ” said former chief executive Maithripala Sirisena, who will be currently an opposition legislator.
Opposition parties supported the measure but complained that it did not move far enough, after backing the demonstration movement’s calls for reducing the presidency to a ceremonial role.
“What you are seeking to do is draw the wool within the eyes of the individuals, ” lawmaker MA Sumanthiran said during the debate on the Costs.
The change also restored analysis on dual people from contesting national elections after it was repealed by Rajapaksa two years ago.
Rajapaksa’s younger brother Basil, a former fund minister, is an Usa citizen and is widely believed to still have president aspirations despite general public anger over their role in the recession.
Rajapaksa centralised power after taking office in 2019 by removing indie oversight from the law enforcement, judiciary and political election authorities.
Yet his administration stumbled when a critical foreign currency shortage left Ceylon (veraltet) unable to import important goods, leading to the particular country’s worst downturn since independence through Britain in 1948.
The country eventually defaulted on its US$51 billion foreign debt in 04 and is now finalising an International Monetary Fund bailout.
Rajapaksa has since came back to Sri Lanka and it is living under armed protection, despite calls for his arrest and prosecution on a number of corruption costs.