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The Parliamentary Council (PC) last week endorsed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s nominees to five commissions, including the National Police Commission, the National Election Commission, Finance Commission, Public Service Commission, and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (CIABOC).
The NEC will have five members, and it will be headed by Nimal G. Punchihewa, who has served as the Commission’s legal adviser for several years, while its other members are M.M. Mohamed, S.B. Divaratne, Jeevan Thyagarajah, and K.P.P. Pathirana.
The Finance Commission will be chaired by Finance Ministry former Secretary Sumith Abeysinghe, while its two ex-officio members are Central Bank (CBSL) Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman and Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle. Its other two members are Razik Zarook PC and Sinnathamby Samithamby.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) will be headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Jagath Balapatadendi, while its members include Indrani Sugathadasa, Leelasena Liyanagama, Dr. T.R.C. Ruberu, Dian Gomes, W.H. Piyadasa, Dilith Jayaweera, V. Sivagnanasothy, and A.L.M. Saleem. The National Police Commission will be headed by Inspector General of Police (Retd.) Chandra Fernando, and its members are S. Liyanagama, Sanjeewa Pathirana, M.S.M. Samsudeen, Premasiri Fernando, Gunapala Wickamage and T.P. Parameswaran.
The three members of the CIABOC are former Supreme Court Justice Eva Wanasundera, Court of Appeal Justice (Retd.) Deepali Wijesundera, and former Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) Chandra Nimal Wakista.
The five-member PC is headed by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, and has as its two ex-officio members the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. Its two other members are Minister Douglas Devananda – who is the PM’s nominee, and SJB MP Kabeer Hashim – who is the Opposition Leader’s nominee.