Ajith P. Perera on how President’s order dissolving Parliament will become invalid
April 22, 2020 08:35 pm
Opposition political parties have called for the reconvening of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka, which had been dissolved by the President, in order to maintain operations and functions of the country under the prevailing situation.
Former UNP Parliamentarian Ajith P. Perera stated that as per the Constitution of the country, when the Parliament is dissolved before its term official ends and the election cannot be held within the next 03 months, as a result of that first order issued by President dissolving Parliament becomes invalid.
He stated that the order issued by the Election Commission is very clear and that it states the election is expected to be held on June 20.
However, he stated that on June 02 the aforementioned three month period comes to an end and that means by June 02 the status quo prevailing prior to the dissolution of Parliament has to be restored.
Meanwhile JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva if the election cannot be held in case of an emergency situation, the President can reconvene the Parliament and the President can also revoke the gazette notification issued by him if he wants.
Once the situation returns to normal the election can be held and a new Parliament can be established, he said. Therefore the government and President should avoid creating unnecessary crises and act according to the constitution
If they lack an understanding regarding the Constitution, the best thing to do is to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court as advised by the Election Commission, he said.
However, former State Minister Gamini Lokuge stated that the government is not talking about an election at this moment and that they have handed over that task to the Election Commission.
He stated that the government will only enter the election after completely eradicating the coronavirus and that their duty right now is to restore normalcy in the country.
He claimed that the entire opposition is afraid of the election right now and that is why it wants the ‘expired’ Parliament to be restored.
