Jagath Wickremeratne appointed new Speaker
December 17, 2024 09:50 am
National People’s Power (NPP) Member of Parliament Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne has been unanimously elected as the new Speaker of Sri Lanka’s Parliament.
The Polonnaruwa District MP was nominated by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya following the commencement of today’s parliamentary session.
The proposal was seconded by the Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Ratnayake.
Accordingly, the Deputy Speaker, Dr. Rizvie Salih announced to the House that Dr. Wickremeratne was unanimously appointed as the new Speaker of the Tenth Parliament as no other names were proposed.
The Prime Minister and the Leader of the House, who proposed and seconded the name of the Speaker, then escorted the new Speaker to his seat as per tradition.
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa and other party leaders congratulated the new Speaker on his election.
The Speaker, who then expressed his gratitude for being elected to the post of Speaker, said that he is committed to working for the betterment of society while preserving independence, dignity and the rights of all members of Parliament in accordance with the Constitution, standing orders and traditions of Parliament.
The appointment comes following the resignation of MP Asoka Ranwala from the position on December 13, amidst the controversy surrounding his educational qualifications. The President had later accepted his letter of resignation.
The opposition had previously stated that they would also propose a name for the Speaker of Parliament, representing the opposition, however, no such proposal was made today.
Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne was elected to the Parliament from the Polonnaruwa District representing the NPP during 2024 General Election. He secured second place in the district, having polled 51,391 preferential votes.
Born in 1968, Wickramaratne has completed his MBBS Degree at the University of Peradeniya, Post Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Quality and Patients Safety (PGDip HCQ&PS) at the University of Colombo, Master of Science (MSc) and Medical Administration at the University of Colombo.
This is his first Parliament representation.
