1. If the office of President becomes vacant prior to expiration of term, Parliament must elect an MP to be President for remainder of term. (A.40(1)(a))
2. The election must be held ASAP, and no later than one month from vacancy. (40(1)(b))
1/63. Between the occurrence of vacancy and assumption of office by the MP so elected, the PM shall act as President. (A.40(1)(c)) The PM shall, during this period appoint another Minister to act as PM.
4. If the PM is unable to act as President, the Speaker shall act.
2/6
@sjbsrilanka presented proposed 21A bill to SG of @ParliamentLK. Proposals include: 1) Abolish current Executive Presidency: Parliament to elect President 2) Cabinet will be continuously accountable & responsible to Parliament, can be removed by no confidence motion
1/43) Reduction of Maximum Cabinet Ministers to 25, maximum of non-cabinet and deputy Ministers to 25. No increase of Ministers in event of coalition govt 4) Stringent provisions to prevent corrupt crossovers
2/4
Apr 19, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Police are bound to uphold & defend the Constitution. They are bound to respect, secure & advance sovereign citizens' fundamental rights, including free speech.
'Superior orders' is not a defence to unlawful acts.
EVEN IF force is necessary, only reasonable force can be used.
@PresRajapaksa PM during your Jana Ghosha days, the Supreme Court, while upholding the right of peaceful protest, cautioned:
"Stifling the peaceful expression of legitimate dissent today can only result, inexorably, in the catastrophic explosion of violence some other day."
2/4
Some of the clauses have been held to require a special (2/3) majority, while some have been held to require 2/3 + referendum. 👇🏼
2/13
Re Composition of the Commission:
AG has agreed to include amendments to ensure that the majority of commissioners are Sri Lankan. (Under the original formulation, all could have been foreigners)
1. The Bill provides for the establishment of a Commission consisting 5-7 persons appointed at the sole discretion of the President (cl.7). Such persons need not be citizens.
2. The Commission appoints the Director General (CEO) (cl.25). There is no requirement that such person be a citizen.
3. The accounts of the Commission are required to be audited by a qualified auditor (cl.15). There is no requirement that the audit be by the Auditor General.
Oct 23, 2020 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
Sad day for #Democracy in #SriLanka... a large majority of MPs voted to enact #20A to reduce checks and balances, and to concentrate powers in the office of President...
#Constitution #SeparationOfPowers #RuleOfLaw
Several Govt MPs who objected to clauses such as that permitting dual citizens seeking election to Parliament, (and those who said they could not in good conscience vote for 20A), voted for it anyway! #Hypocrisy
Jul 18, 2020 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
Strange state of affairs in our disciplined society!
Why is the law not strictly enforced against those who unlawfully destroy important historical / archeological sites?
