|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Tuesday, 13 April 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Politics | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
| President kick-starts constitutional reforms President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga presided over the first round of discussions on constitutional reforms Friday, attended by close advisors and legal consultants. The Presidential Secretariat said yesterday that in what was seen as the first step towards implementing the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Manifesto, the first chapter of which details UPFA's pledges on constitutional reforms, President Kumaratunga in a three-hour preliminary round of discussions kick-started the proposed reforms, at the President's House. Among those who participated at the discussions were Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, M.M. Zuhair, Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Prof. Ranjith Ameresinghe, R.K.W. Gunesekera, Dr. Gamini Keerawella and Nigel Hatch. President Kumaratunga is due to meet the newly elected political leaders and constituent party representatives shortly, to discuss the political process of effecting constitutional reforms. The UPFA Manifesto sought the people's mandate to formulate and promulgate a new Constitution since the 1978 Constitution had caused problems for effective governance. The last two years in particular, saw the present constitutional scheme casting a heavy shadow on political stability adversely affecting the country's economic development. This, the manifesto pointed out was due to the' inherent difficulty of securing the stipulated majorities in Parliament to bring about constitutional reforms. The mandate sought was to overcome this inherent obstacle by convening a Constituent Assembly consisting of the newly elected Members of Parliament, and enacting a new constitution that will derive its form and validity from the expression of the political will of the people, as expressed in nearly 106 or two thirds of the islands' 160 electorates and 14 or two third of the islands' 22 electoral districts. The manifesto also pointed out that the new Constitution will be placed before the people at a Referendum before enactment. The people's mandate granted at the April 2 General Election will be further reinforced through a Referendum to be held for the purpose, government sources said. President Kumaratunga pointed out at Friday's consultation that none of the Constitutions including the 1948 Order-in-Council, the 1972 Constitution, the 1978 Constitution or the 13th Amendment which devolved power to the provincial councils, had been approved by the people voting thereon, whereas the proposed new Constitution will, for the first time ever, be placed before the people prior to enactment. "Political stability is vital for securing permanent peace and economic development. We need to accelerate economic development. We must keep pace with other regional economies which had gone ahead of us, whilst our country had frittered away valuable development hours on political trivialities," she said. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
