New Constitution may have 240 seats: RW

20 November 2016 02:02 pm

The Constitutional Assembly was looking at the possibility of increasing the number of MPs in the legislature to 240, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, who was speaking at the Junior National Law Conference in Negombo, said the government was looking at 240-seat Parliament, where 60 percent would be elected under the First Past the Post (FPP) system and the remaining 40percent on a list.

“We are looking at a mixed system similar to one in New Zealand. It is similar to the German system as well. But according to the German system, 50 percent of the MPs are elected under a list and other 50 percent on the First Past the Post system. This will help Opposition parties to get more seats.

“We will stick to 240 MPs. We are looking at introducing an electoral system where 60 percent of the members in Parliament will be elected under the FPP First Past the Post system, while 40 percent on a list,” the Premier said. (Yohan Perera)