Speaker of House Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne is expected to deliver his opinion today (19) on the no-confidence motion submitted by the opposition against Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd).
Parliament is scheduled to convene at 9:30 a.m. today under the patronage of the Speaker.
It is reported that during today’s sitting, the Speaker will announce his stance on the no-confidence motion brought forward by the opposition.
However, several parties have already raised concerns stating that the motion was not submitted in accordance with parliamentary procedure.
Accordingly, government sources indicate that the Speaker is likely to declare that the motion cannot be included in the parliamentary order book due to procedural issues.
Nevertheless, the opposition—particularly the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)—claims that the Speaker cannot arbitrarily act regarding the no-confidence motion against the Deputy Minister of Defence.
SJB MP Ajith P. Perera stated that if the Speaker fails to act in accordance with parliamentary traditions and procedures, the opposition will consider bringing a no-confidence motion against the Speaker himself.
