SLPP backs General Election

SLPP Chairman Prof. G. L. Peiris addressing the media yesterday along with (from left) SLPP 

member Rohitha Abeygunawardena and former Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council Member Kanchana Jayaratna

– Pic by Ruwan Walpola

• Insist they have more seats than UNP, admits not 113
• Says Speaker Jayasuriya was partisan in giving Selection Committee slots to TNA and JVP
  
   

By Nuwan Senarathna

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday acknowledged that MP Mahinda Rajapaksa does not have the required majority in Parliament and reiterated their call for a General Election to resolve the impasse.

“At the moment we have around 103 seats, and United National Party (UNP) has around 101, meanwhile, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) clearly stated that they won’t support Ranil Wickremesinghe. Therefore it is clear no one has the majority in Parliament,” SLPP Chairman Prof. G. L. Peiris told reporters at party headquarters.

He pointed out that the current instability in Parliament could only be resolved by voters. “A General Election is the only answer to current political uncertainty in the country,” he added.

“Under the current situation, no one would be able to pass a Vote on Account or Appropriation Bill, which would lead to a dead end,” Prof. Peiris added.

Referring to the Parliamentary Selection Committee, Prof. G. L. Peiris charged that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s decision to offer one position each in the Selection Committee to both TNA and JVP was partisan.

“According to Standing Orders, only those parties that have a minimum 19 seats in Parliament get the eligibility for a position in the Selection Committee. Therefore neither JVP nor TNA would be able to get a position in the Selection Committee, but somehow Speaker Karu Jayasuriya decided to offer a position for them, which was a violation of traditions and Standing Orders in Parliament.”

He claimed that according to the tradition of Parliament, the majority of the positions of the Selection Committee should be given to the party that holds the majority, which in his view is MP Rajapaksa and his supporters.

Prof. G. L. Peiris also said that according to the Constitution, the President has the authority to call for a Presidential Election after the first four years are over.

“President Maithripala Sirisena can call for a Presidential Election after 9 January 2019, but Parliament doesn’t have the authority to decide the date of the Presidential Election,” he added.