Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera says that the abolition of the Executive Presidency will come into effect after incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena’s term in office ends. 

Addressing a press briefing in Colombo today, he stated that President Sirisena will wield executive powers until his term officially ends  and that they will be abolished after that.

The minister stated that for the first time in history an incumbent President has taken steps to curtail his powers and termed it as a historic occasion. 

The President presented a special cabinet paper to today’s cabinet meeting regarding the abolishing of executive presidency and introducing a new electoral system for its approval, fulfilling a pledge given in the Presidential election manifesto.

A subcommittee headed by the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is to be appointed to finalize the process and a report by the Cabinet Subcommittee will be presented within the next two weeks to the Cabinet. Subsequent to that legislative draftsmen will draft the required amendments to the Constitution.
 
The President believes that the Subcommittee will take into considerations of the views expressed by the people’s representatives and other political parties that have an interest in this regard.