Speaker nullifies NFF withdrawal from CA

Thursday, 10 August 2017 00:24 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Says Constitutional Assembly can continue with NFF members despite Weerawansa objection

By Ashwin Hemmathagama – Our Lobby Correspondent

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday nullified the impact of the five National Freedom Front (NFF) Parliamentarians led by MP Wimal Weerawansa withdrawing from the Constitutional Assembly.

According to the Speaker, the withdrawal of the MPs will not have an impact on the national approach.

Responding to MP Weerawansa’s request to know the House’s position over the letter submitted, the Speaker held that he has obtained legal advice on the matter and it was clear that the withdrawal will not have an impact on the process of the Constitutional Assembly.

However, MP Weerawansa said: “In our letter, we stated that the Constitutional Assembly would no longer be valid with our withdrawal because the resolution adopted in Parliament states that the Constitutional Assembly consists of all 225 members.”

According to the Minister of Higher Education and Highways and Leader of the House of Parliament, all 225 members need not necessarily take part in Constitutional Assembly sittings. “The Constitutional Assembly can go ahead with its business provided the quorum is there,” he said.

The Framework Resolution of 9 March 2016 created a representative body known as the Constitutional Assembly whereby all 225 Members of Parliament sit as a committee for the purpose of drafting a Constitutional Proposal. The needs and aspirations of the people within the constitutional reform process are reflected through the composition of the Constitutional Assembly as a body comprising the democratically-elected representatives of the people of Sri Lanka.

The Constitutional Assembly is chaired by the Speaker of Parliament and is aided by seven Deputy Chairmen who have been elected by the assembly to chair sittings in his absence. The quorum for meetings of the Constitutional Assembly is fixed at 20 and sittings are conducted within the chamber of the Parliament.