Govt. to move ahead with its own 21st Amendment

Cabinet has approved a proposal to appoint a sub-committee to guide the Legal Draftsman for the preparation of a 21st Amendment to the Constitution. 

A media release by the Government Information Department said that 21A will be based on both the 19th and 20th constitutional amendments. 

A number of parties representing the political, professional and various strata of the society emphasize that it is appropriate to introduce suitable reforms to the Constitution in order to create political, economic and social stability for finding solutions to the economic crisis at present as a result of the prevailing situation within the country, the release noted.

Considering these circumstances, Cabinet approved the following proposals submitted by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa:

• Appointment of a Cabinet sub – committee for guiding the Legal Draftsman as necessary for the preparation of a fundamental draft bill with immediate effect in order to introduce the twenty first constitutional reform that entrusts more powers to the Parliament by further strengthening the democracy based on the effective particulars appeared in both nineteenth and twentieth constitutional amendments.
• Entrusting the power to the Prime Minister to furnish a resolution to the Parliament proposing it to appoint a Parliamentary Selection Committee for the preparation of a draft bill with a unanimity by considering the draft bill so formulated as above and the constitutional reforms resolutions already been submitted in the Parliament.

Earlier, both the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the group of 41 independent MPs in Parliament submitted their own draft versions of the 21st Amendment.