Outgoing President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Saliya Pieris, PC yesterday (25) rubbished an allegation directed at him by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament earlier in the week.

Addressing Parliament on Thursday (23), President Wickremesinghe had questioned why the Election Commission (EC) had picked Pieris to represent it for a case filed against a number of persons in relation to the postponed Local Government Elections.

Wickremesinghe had opined that the EC should have picked a lawyer who was not attracted to politics or a member of the Attorney General’s Department.

Responding to the allegations levelled against him, the BASL President told The Sunday Morning that it was up to the Election Commission to decide who represented it, stressing that he had never been involved in party politics.

“I am not and have never been involved in party politics. I am not a member of any political party and have never been. People who have immunity from being sued should act with a sense of responsibility when they speak. I have been retained by the Election Commission previously too in 2020 and it is entirely up to the client to retain counsel of their choice,” Pieris said.