Dr. Jagath Wickremeratne elected as new Speaker

Wednesday, 18 December 2024 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dr. Jagath Wickremeratne

National People’s Power (NPP) Member of Parliament Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne was unanimously appointed yesterday as the new Speaker of the 10th Parliament.

The Polonnaruwa District MP was nominated by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and the proposal was seconded by the Leader of the House and Minister Bimal Ratnayake following the commencement of yesterday’s Parliamentary session.

Accordingly, the Deputy Speaker, Dr. Rizvie Salih announced to the House that Dr. Wickremeratne was unanimously appointed as the new Speaker of the 10th Parliament as no other names were proposed.

The appointment comes following the resignation of MP Asoka Ranwala from the position on 13 December, amidst the controversy surrounding his educational credentials.

The main Opposition, Smagi Jana Balawega (SJB) who had previously stated that it would also propose a name for the Speaker of Parliament — however did no such proposal yesterday.

Dr. Wickramaratne was elected to the Parliament from the Polonnaruwa District representing the NPP during 2024 General Election. He secured second place in the district, with 51,391 preferential votes. This is his first Parliament representation.

Born in 1968, Dr. Wickramaratne has completed his MBBS Degree at the University of Peradeniya, Post Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Quality and Patients Safety (PGDip HCQ&PS) at the University of Colombo, Master of Science (MSc) and Medical Administration at the University of Colombo.