• Alleges non-gazetting of rules formulated by Constitutional Council

Claiming that President and National Policies Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has ordered the Department of Government Printing not to print a gazette related to a set of rules prepared by the Constitutional Council (CC), Opposition Parliamentarian Prof. G.L. Peiris said that an impeachment motion could be brought against the President based on it.

The CC is tasked with overseeing independent commissions and approving appointments made by the President to high posts. It was established with the aim of depoliticising the public service by paving the way for non-political appointments.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday (11), Prof. Peiris said that the Constitution clearly mentions how the CC should carry out its affairs, including the preparation of laws, rules, processes, and standards. “The CC should prepare laws that can be implemented in every case. It cannot use specific yardsticks case by case. If it does so, public trust will be damaged,” he said. 

Prof. Peiris also said that the main reason behind the establishment of the CC was to make high post appointments based on a national level agreement. “The CC was established so that several political groups are represented in it.” 

Speaking further, Prof. Peiris said that the CC was making an honest attempt to fulfil its responsibility by preparing laws and rules as required. “When the CC prepares laws and rules, they should be gazetted and presented to Parliament. The CC made an honest attempt to do it. It sent some such rules to the Government Printing Department. 

“At that point, the President directly intervened, and he ordered the Department not to print the relevant gazette. He deliberately created a situation where the CC cannot fulfill its duties. That is a deliberate violation of the Constitution. There is very clear space to move an impeachment motion against the President based on it.”

Government Printer Gangani Liyanage was not available for comment.

Speaking to The Daily Morning recently, a CC member claimed that they had prepared laws pertaining to the appointment of judges to upper courts, but that the Attorney General (AG) had refused to give his clearance to them. “The Constitution enables the CC to prepare laws, and we have done it. When there is a law, the Chief Justice cannot say that he cannot send information. He is then duty bound to provide us with the information that we, the CC, ask for. 

“However, the AG does not give clearance to laws that we prepared, and they cannot be gazetted without his clearance. All these parties are trying to make the CC a body solely relegated to rubber-stamping.”