Opposition to urge reconvening parliament before PC elections

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 23 June 2004, 03:59 GMT]
Leaders of opposition parties are scheduled to meet Wednesday in the parliamentary complex to decide on the next course of action taken in regard to safeguard the parliamentary democracy. The Leader of the Opposition and main opposition United National Party (UNP) Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe is to preside over the meet, political sources in Colombo said.

Opposition leaders earlier handed over a memorandum to the Speaker Mr.W.J.M.Lokkubandara with the signatures of 114 parliamentarians urging him to ensure that parliamentary democracy is safeguarded in future.

Two more Sri Lanka Muslim Congress national list parliamentarians nominated through the UNP list are expected to sign the memorandum once their names are gazetted by the Commissioner of Elections Wednesday or Thursday. With these names the number of the opposition parliamentarians signed the memorandum would increase to 116 in the 225 member-parliament, the sources said.

Currently majority of opposition leaders are supporting the view that the Prime Minister and Speaker should be asked to advance the date of next session of the parliament from July 20, the sources said.

The Speaker Mr.W.J.M.Lokkubandara on June 8 postponed the next session of the parliament for July 20 on a motion moved by the Leader of the House Minister Maithripala Sirisena following the outbreak of lawlessness in the august assembly when a newly appointed Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) parliamentarian Venerable Akmeemana Dayaratna Thera took oaths.

Leaders of opposition parties, United National Party (UNP), Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and Upcountry People’s Front (UPF) are meeting Wednesday to discuss the current political situation and to exert pressure on the minority UPFA government to prove its majority in parliament without waiting for the conclusion of provincial council election which is scheduled to be held on 10 July, opposition sources in Colombo said.