• Alleges violation of P’ment Privileges Law via false info to CC on CIABOC DG appointment 

Opposition Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara alleged that Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake and Speaker of the Parliament Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne have violated the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act by presenting false information to the Constitutional Council (CC) with the intention of deceit.

He expressed these concerns in a letter addressed to the Speaker through which he raised a question of privilege. He said that the alleged submission of false information occurred at the Constitutional Council (CC) during the selection of the present Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Director General (DG).

According to Jayasekara’s letter, during the process of considering the recommendations received of candidates, the CC had discussed that the recommendations submitted by persons holding governor positions, the latter which, according to him, constitutes political interference as the post of a governor is a political appointment, and that such cannot be entertained in the context of the selection process as the CIABOC is an independent body. 

Jayasekara said that the result of the vote that took place in this context changed after Rathnayake claimed that the said recommendation letters had been presented before they were appointed as governors, and that they do not therefore constitute letters of a political nature. The letter further said that a member of the CC, Prof. Dinesha Samararatne, accepted Rathnayake’s explanation as true and voted for Ranga Dissanayake, resulting in him becoming the present CIABOC DG. Moreover, the letter said that after the gazette notification on appointing Governors was made public, Prof. Samararatne had learnt that the relevant governors had recommended Dissanayake’s name following their appointments as governors, and had then expressed objection to the Speaker concerning her vote.

In this context, Jayasekara claimed that Rathnayake and Dr. Wickramaratne had caused significant damage to the reputation of the Parliament, thereby violating the privileges of all MPs. He demanded that the matter be referred to the Privileges Committee and that the Speaker provide an explanation to the House.