UPDATE: 19th Amendment draft bill gets cabinet approval
March 15, 2015 07:51 pm
The Cabinet approval has been granted for the draft bill on the 19th Amendment and it will be tabled in parliament within next few days, Cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said.
The Cabinet has also decided to reach a final settlement on electoral reforms on Tuesday (17).
According to the Government Information Department, the term of the Executive President is due to be reduced from six years to five. Powers vested with the President to dissolve parliament will be now granted to parliament itself. Another Constitutional Amendment is a President’s term being restricted to merely two terms.
Cabinet will be vested with the power of appointing secretaries of ministries while the Cabinet of Ministers will be appointed by the President following consultations with the Prime Minister.
The number of Cabinet Ministers will be restricted to 30 through Constitutional Amendments.
The Presidential immunity from being sued over matters conducted during his period of office is to also be removed under the proposed reforms.
