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New members to CC: Opposition cries foul over suspension of Standing Orders
View(s):By Ranjith Padmasiri
The government on Friday suspended Standing Orders before naming three civil society members to the Constitutional Council, prompting the Opposition to point out that parliamentary tradition had been violated in how the appointments were made.
Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya presented the three names to Parliament on Friday afternoon after Standing Orders were suspended. Once the names were approved in Parliament, it was announced that they would be forwarded to the President.
But Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunathilaka told Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne that the manner in which the three new civil society members were appointed to the CC was contrary to the Standing Orders and parliamentary tradition.
Addressing the House, Mr Karunathilaka, who was informed of the appointments along with others on the Committee on Parliamentary Business, stated that while the Opposition did not have any objection to the three nominees agreed to by the PM and Opposition Leader, the government was bound to follow Standing Orders and parliamentary tradition to give due respect to the new appointees.
He said suspending Standing Orders to approve the CC names sets a bad precedent.
The selected names should have been presented as a motion, after which that motion is included in the Order Book of Parliament for a period of five days. The motion should then be inserted into the agenda in the agenda and taken up for debate, he added.
The three new nominees were appointed with the agreement of Prime Minister Amarasuriya and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.
During the meeting held between the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader in Parliament on Friday, agreement was reached to appoint former President’s Secretary Austin Fernando, former Postmaster General Ranjith Ariyaratne and Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne of the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, as the CC’s new civil society members.
When contacted, Mr Karunathilaka told the Sunday Times that failure to follow accepted procedure in the appointment of the civil society members of the CC was also harmful to the good name of the new representatives.
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