Dissanayake in doubt over Opposition Leader selection

Wednesday, 25 March 2015 00:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Ashwin Hemmathagama Our Lobby Correspondent The conduct of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, now a part of the National Government, came under fire yesterday in Parliament with Opposition lawmaker Anura Dissanayake seeking the Speaker’s intervention to define the role of the Opposition Leader and the procedure required to select one.

Addressing the House following Standing Order 23 (2), MP Dissanayake found fault with Standing Orders that did not provide for the appointment of an Opposition Leader. “In the absence of guidelines in the Standing Orders, we follow the traditions followed by this House. In the period from 1977-83 the Leader of the Opposition was A. Amirthalingam who had 17 seats. In 1983-88, with the TULF walking out, Anura Bandaranaike became the Opposition Leader with his eight MPs. In 1989-94 former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the Leader of the Opposition and there were 67 seats. From 25 August 1994 to 24 October 1994 Gamini Dissanayake was the Leader of the Opposition with 94 seats. “But in the period from 1994-2000 the present Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held the Opposition Leader post. However, from time to time many MPs left the party and joined the Government. During 2000-2001 in Parliament there were 89 UNP MPs with MP Ranil Wickremesinghe serving as the Opposition Leader. In 2001-2002 former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake became the Opposition Leader with 77 seats. During 2002-2004 Mahinda Rajapaksa was the Opposition Leader. But from 2004-2015 the Opposition Leader was Ranil Wickremesinghe. So this shows that the Prime Minster was appointed from the party where the most members were represented in the Opposition. What you have here is nothing more than a child’s playhouse where friends appoint friends to the Opposition and the Government. This is a joke where the SLFP represents both the Government and the Opposition,” MP Dissanayake said, labelling the current system farcical and devoid of democracy. In response, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe stressed that democracy was being upheld and that the issue was not his concern but a matter that needed to be handled by the Opposition. “I was the leader of the Opposition for 11 years. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa continued to keep me there. However, as soon as I got here the issues started. This is not an issue of the Government but one the Opposition has to solve on its own. After the presidential elections the SLFP has also joined the Government, which is a new situation. So how do we prepare for this? Should we continue to have a traditional Opposition?” he asked. “Furthermore, there is a judgement by former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva which gave the President the right to appoint anybody as a Minister. According to the Westminster system when one party becomes the Government the other becomes the Opposition, creating a struggle for power. During the First World War the Government and the Opposition created a National Government in 1914 in the UK. During World War II another National Government was formed in the UK. It is better if the Speaker asks all parties, including the TNA, to appoint an Opposition Leader,” he said.

Speaker to decide on opposition

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa is to decide on the post of opposition leader after some opposition political parties today objected to Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) member Nimal Siripala de Silva continuing as opposition leader. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) and National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa said the opposition leader cannot be from a political party which is in the Government. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe later said he had no objections to the Speaker deciding who the opposition leader should be. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa said he will take time and decide on the issue and inform Parliament. The dispute over the opposition leader’s post arose after several SLFP members were appointed Government Ministers as well as State and Deputy Ministers this week. (Colombo Gazette)

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