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| Friday, 13 February 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| President's action undemocratic - Govt. spokesman The non-Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers have ceased to hold office only because of the undemocratic action taken by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to remove them from office. This action is contrary to all principle and precedent, said the Government spokesman in a statement issued yesterday. The release: "An impression was sought to be created that this action was required by the Constitution. The Government points out that this is not the case. On the contrary, the Constitution provides in explicit terms that: "The Cabinet of Ministers functioning immediately prior to the dissolution of Parliament shall notwithstanding such dissolution continue to function and shall cease to function upon the conclusion of the general election, and accordingly, the Prime Ministers, Ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers, other Ministers and Deputy Ministers shall continue to function unless they cease to hold office as provided in paragraph (a) or (b) of Article 47" (Article 48(1)) President Kumaratunga has dissolved Parliament on two previous occasions - in August 2000 and September 2001. On neither occasion were her non-Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers removed from office. The President's action on this occasion, entirely inconsistent with her own previous practice, is discriminatory and designed as a measure to benefit her own Party wrongly at the expense of the ruling Party. The clear intention reflected in Article 48(1) of the Constitution is that there should be continuity during the period of Caretaker Government. Ministers of all categories should continue in office during the period between the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of the General Election. The President's action is manifestly partisan and violates the spirit of the Constitution". |
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