PSC composition still unclear

Thursday, 8 November 2012 01:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Speaker calls for four nominations from joint Opposition
JVP undecided about participating in committee
Amaratunga, Kiriella to represent UNP

By Dharisha Bastians

Confusion still reigns over the Parliamentary Select Committee to probe the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, with the Opposition calling for a more just composition of the committee with a single member majority for the Government.

Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga told the Daily FT that it remained unclear how many members would represent the Government in the PSC since the Speaker had only written to the Opposition Leader asking the joint Opposition to name four MPs to sit on the committee.

“The latest we have heard is that the composition will be 7-4 in an 11-member committee, but no one is certain so far. The UNP will certainly lobby the Speaker for the composition to be 6-5, but they are unlikely to give in on this,” Amaratunga said.

He added that the TNA had agreed to communicate its nominee to the UNP shortly, but that there was no communication so far on the matter from the JVP.

JVP MP Vijitha Herath told the Daily FT that his party had not decided yet on whether it would participate in the select committee to probe the impeachment against the Chief Justice.

“We are going to wait a day or two before we make this decision. There is no hurry anyway,” Herath said. He added that the composition of the PSC made the process redundant given the Government majority.

Meanwhile the Daily FT learns that UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is to nominate Chief Opposition Whip Amaratunga and UNP Senior Vice President and MP Lakshman Kiriella to sit on the committee. The decision will be communicated to the Speaker after the JVP and TNA inform the UNP about their decision, official sources confirmed

Amaratunga said the entire select committee process lacked clarity because there was only a single precedence in the country – the case of Chief Justice Neville Samarakoon – and those proceedings were lacklustre halfway through.

“We have to seek international precedents in order to figure this out,” the senior UNP member said, adding that come what may the Opposition would see to it that justice was done by the Chief Justice in probing the motion.

see also page 13

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