A disagreement has arisen between President and National Policies Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Constitutional Council (CC) regarding the appointment of a member for the vacant position in the National Police Commission (NPC), The Daily Morning learns.

The NPC is currently chaired by retired High Court Judge E.W.M. Lalith Ekanayake, and its other members include D.K. Renuka Ekanayake, K. Karunaharan, S. Gamini De Silva, attorney Dilshan Kapila Jayasuriya, and President’s Counsel A.A.M. Illiyas.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, a member of the CC said that they had recommended to the President a suitable member for the said vacancy at the NPC. “We (the CC) decided on a person to be appointed for this vacancy, and forwarded the relevant recommendation to the President, but he refused to make the relevant appointment. That is why the relevant vacancy has not yet been filled.” 

When queried as to whether the CC would make another recommendation, he said that President Wickremesinghe had failed to provide a fair reason as to why the previously recommended individual could not be appointed. “If that person could not be appointed, we asked what the reason was, but the President did not give a reason. So the CC is still of the position that the person recommended earlier should be appointed.”

The NPC consists of seven members and one member is yet to be appointed. The 21st Amendment to the Constitution – which was passed by Parliament in October 2022 – envisaged the establishment of nine independent commissions including the NPC, which is vested with wide powers pertaining to police officers and thereby in relation to the Police service, and acts as an oversight body.