19A a ‘Constitutional Coup’-JHU

24 March 2015 08:15 am

The 19th Amendment presented in Parliament by the Government was a result of a ‘Constitutional Coup’ to allow a person who is unable to win at an election to retain power, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) said today.

JHU General Secretary and Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said the objective of the latest reforms was to render the Executive President powerless and to make the Prime Minister powerful.

“The people elected President Maithripala Sirisena with a mandate to curb the arbitrary powers of the Presidency and not to make the Prime Minister the Head of the Government nor allow Parliament to override the Executive. The Prime Minister can be made the Head of the Government only if approved at a referendum,” he told a news conference held at the Party Head Office in Battaramulla.

Claiming that the constitutional reforms included in the 19th Amendment were done in a hurry, he vowed to garner the support of other political parties and defeat the 19th Amendment in its present form. (Lahiru Pothmulla)