• Reconstituting independent commissions to be discussed soon   

With the appointment of the three non-Parliamentary civil society members to the 10-member Constitutional Council (CC), reconstituted recently under the 21st Amendment to the Constitution after its abolition by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, and replacement with a Parliamentary Council, the Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana noted yesterday (18) that the reconstituting of the independent Commissions by the CC would be discussed in the upcoming weeks. 

Accordingly Dr. Prathap Ramanujam, Dr. D. Anula Wijesundara, and Dr. Dinesha Samararatne had been appointed as the three non-Parliamentary civil society members. Speaking to The Morning, Abeywardana said that the names were suggested on Tuesday (17) and that Parliament had approved them yesterday. 

When queried as to when the independent commissions would be reconstituted, Abeywardana said: “We will have to decide on a date for the CC to meet, and after that, we will decide. The independent commissions have to be decided by the CC. Within this week, it would be impossible. But, it could possibly happen in the upcoming weeks while it also depends on the CC members and whether they can meet.” 

According to the Constitution, the above-mentioned non-Parliamentary members were appointed to the CC with the nomination of both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader.

Abeywardana earlier told The Morning that around 120 applications had been received for the above posts to represent the CC.

According to the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, the CC will be comprised of 10 members including three ex-officio members, namely the Prime Minister, the Speaker (the Chairperson), and the Opposition Leader, while there will also be a nominee each of the President, the Premier, and the Opposition Leader, a minor party member (numerical minority and not belonging to the party to which the Opposition Leader belongs to), and three civil society members.