• Cite JVP/NPP arguments that Exec. Presidency leads to the downfall of country 

The main Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), lambasted the Government for its failure to fulfill the promises regarding the abolition of the Executive Presidency.

Speaking at a press briefing held yesterday (21), SJB Parliamentarian Mujibar Rahman said that even though the Government is nearing the first-year anniversary of its election, no step has been taken to abolish the Executive Presidency.

He added: “The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) including the President kept discussing the abolition of the Executive Presidency. However, the Government has not even started preliminary discussions on drafting a Bill to abolish the Executive Presidency. The JVP kept demanding that the Executive Presidency be abolished since the day former President J.R. Jayawardene introduced the Executive Presidency to the country until 20 September of last year. They said that it is due to the Executive Presidency that the country faced destruction and difficulties in economic development.”

Moreover, Rahman expressed concerns about nepotism and the state of rule of law under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Saying that the Government promised to give opportunities for skilled public officials, he alleged that positions such as the Secretary to the President and the Auditor General were given to the President’s friends. 

In addition, he claimed that individuals linked to the JVP have been appointed to a number of ambassador posts. Rahman observed: “This year, the transparency and rule of law that the JVP and the National People’s Alliance (NPP) discussed have been collapsing. The country remains within the old political tradition that they criticised.”