JVP joins call for dissolution of Parliament

• Says President has responsibility to honour mandate on reforms, charges House has become a “useless place”

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva addressing the press briefing – Pic by Sameera Wijesinghe

By Chamodi Gunawardana 

As the stalemate on the 20th Amendment grows, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday joined the call to dissolve Parliament if differences regarding electoral reforms could not be ironed out.

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva charged that if President Maithripala Sirisena was unable to handle the demands of different political parties over the 20th Amendment, dissolving would be the better solution.

“This Government has no mandate to go forward. Especially the Prime Minister has no right to enjoy the premiership as he wants. If President Sirisena is failing to solve county’s problems, it’s better to dissolve Parliament soon as possible,” Silva said. 

Silva also referred to Parliament as “a useless place” where the Government could not take any crucial decisions. 

“The Parliament is always noisy and Opposition MPs are trying to sabotage Parliamentary debates as best they can. Some MPs who are backing former President Mahinda Rajapaksa are violating the ethics of Parliament too,” he noted.

Commenting further, Silva stated that the Government had failed to form the Independent Commissions under the Constitutional Council proposed under the 19th Amendment. 

“President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have nominated two ministers for the membership of the Constitutional Council, but we believe the nominations should focus on MPs, not ministers. The President, Prime Minister or Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva can’t nominate their favourites to the Constitutional Council,” Silva emphasised.

Commenting on electoral reforms, Silva criticised the cabinet subcommittee appointed by President Sirisena on electoral reforms and accused it of not working properly.

“President Sirisena nominated this subcommittee to work on electoral reform. However, they did not do anything about that. As a result the 20th Amendment is still pending,” he said.