Rathana Thero champions support for 19A

Wednesday, 29 April 2015 02:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The National Council for a Clean Tomorrow Chairman Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero addressing yesterday’s media conference - Pic by Shehan Gunasekara By Jayashika Padmasiri The National Council for a Clean Tomorrow yesterday requested Parliamentarians representing all political parties to vote for the 19th Amendment though the authorities had failed to consider the proposals they presented for the 19th Amendment, claiming that if it was defeated it would be the result of a conspiracy. Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero, while addressing a news conference yesterday ahead of the vote, said that he believed that the prevailing issues concerning the 19th Amendment could be solved through discussions and he strongly believed that the 19th Amendment would be enacted. “We request all political parties to vote in favor of the 19th Amendment because if it did not get passed in Parliament then it would be historically bad for the country while a conspiracy will take place. The 19th Amendment is a national need and the people’s need because our country has suffered a lot as a result of the powers of the executive presidency while the nation has been robbed of democracy and judicial independence as a result of the dictatorship created through the executive presidency,” Rathana Thero said. He added that if the Government heeded the recommendations and proposals presented by the National Council for a Clean Tomorrow concerning the 19th Amendment and trimmed the powers of the executive president, the Parliament would have obtained more powers instead from the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. During the news conference Rathana Thero also said that the preferential voting system should be abolished completely and a new electoral system which was fair to minority parties and all nationalities should be introduced to the country.