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Protest outside Dhammika’s house

13 Jun 2022

A protest was staged yesterday (12) in front of the residence of business tycoon Dhammika Perera, ahead of his expected entry to Parliament. The protestors had demonstrated, accusing Dhammika Perera of tax evasion and demanding that the businessman pay the taxes he allegedly evaded. The name of Dhammika Perera has already been gazetted as a Member of Parliament from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). Perera’s name was proposed to the Election Commission to fill the National List Parliamentary seat left vacant following the resignation of former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has expressed concerns about Perera’s entry to Parliament due to his vast business interests in a press release on Friday (10). ‘Dhammika Perera has business interests in several public and private limited companies covering several important sectors in the economy. Decisions made by Perera as a legislator, and possibly as a future Minister, would have a significant and direct impact on these companies and sectors, which creates a direct conflict of interest.  “These conflicts of interest are not resolved simply by Perera resigning from official positions held within the companies as he would nonetheless stand to gain significant financial benefits. These circumstances make it all the more important why the citizens of Sri Lanka should have known of the potential of Perera being appointed to Parliament when they voted in the Parliamentary Election held in August 2020.  “Additionally, if businesses in which Perera has an interest in, enter into or continue with contracts made by or on behalf of the State or a public corporation, this could be a violation of Article 91(1)(e) of the Constitution,” the statement read. The CPA statement further noted that in terms of the Constitution, only a person whose name was included in one of the district nomination papers, or the National List submitted by a political party or independent group, is entitled to be nominated to fill such a vacancy in the membership of Parliament.


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