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Proposals for 22nd Amendment to Constitution gazetted

30 Jun 2022

The proposals for the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, put forward to cut down on the powers in the executive presidency currently held by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, have been published in a gazette notification issued yesterday (29). The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal to gazette the new constitutional amendment and to present it to the Parliament. The amendment, which had been referred to as the 21st Amendment so far, is in fact the 22nd Amendment, as another draft 21st Amendment has already been gazetted. Policy approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was given on June 20 for the preliminary draft for the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution and the 22nd constitutional amendment bill was prepared by the legal Draftsman accordingly. The 22nd Amendment was initially tabled in the Cabinet on the 6th of June by Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and the discussion on it had been adjourned on multiple occasions due to failure to reach a consensus. The Constitutional Amendment is expected to empower Parliament over the executive President and annul the 20A to the Constitution, which had given unfettered powers to President after abolishing the 19th Amendment. Under the 22A, the President, the Cabinet of Ministers and the National Council will be held accountable to the Parliament. Fifteen Committees and Oversight Committees are also accountable to Parliament.


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