• Questions Govt. silence on abolishing Exec. Prez, establishing Westminster P’ment system, holding PC Polls 
• Justice Ministry urges patience 

The main Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s (SJB) Parliamentarian Ajith P. Perera claimed that the Government has, in a dishonest manner, forgotten the promises that it made regarding constitutional reform and the abolition of the Executive Presidency, as outlined in the National People's Power (NPP) manifesto.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday (12), he said that according to the NPP's Election manifesto, the Government had pledged to promptly draft a new Constitution, abolish the Executive Presidency, establish a Parliamentary system with a non-Executive President, and hold the Provincial Council (PC) Elections within a year of coming to power.

“The President spoke for nearly four hours when he presented the Budget for next year (2026). He had enough time to talk about these key promises including introducing a new Constitution, abolishing the Executive Presidency, and holding the long-delayed PC Elections. But, not a single word was spoken about any of them. He spoke about everything else,” Perera said.

Speaking further, he said: “They must at least fulfill that promise within the next year. We are not saying that the President should give up his Executive powers during his first term. But, there can’t be another Presidential Election if they follow their own manifesto. A new Constitution should be introduced and a Westminster-style Parliamentary system should be established. These are not our demands; they are the NPP’s own promises.”  

He claimed that the Government had now “destroyed these promises in a dishonest and cunning way”. He also urged the Government to hold the PC Elections, noting that the absence of elected representatives in PCs has led to rising corruption and poor responsiveness to public needs. “The legal changes required to hold the PC Elections are very simple. A private member Bill has already been presented in the Parliament on this matter. We are ready to support it. The Government must act in good faith,” he added.

In response, Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said that only a year has passed since the Government took office and hence urged the critics to be patient. “Be patient and wait. We don’t mind whoever barks along the way,” he said.