Appointing new members to independent commissions is illegal: SJB

• The existing members of the commissions could be removed only through a resolution in Parliament

By Yohan Perera   

The appointment of new members for the independent commissions is illegal as the existing members of these commissions could be removed only through a resolution in Parliament, main opposition SJB said yesterday.  

SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara and MP Mujibur Rahman who came out with this allegation during a press conference said the two main issues pertaining to the appointment of new members to the commissions is its legal value and the members themselves. Citing an example, Mr. Madduma Bandara alleged that the Chairman of the police commission is one who had handled the SLPP election campaign during the last election. “How could these commissions be independent?” he asked. Mr. Rahman said the existing members of the commissions could be removed only through a resolution in Parliament. “No such resolution has been brought yet but the members have been replaced,” he alleged. Asked whether the government did not receive a mandate from the people to change the system, he said the mandate was to make the commissions independent.

The two main issues pertaining to the appointment of new members to the commissions is its legal value and the members themselves