Will the 21st Amendment, which reduces the powers of the President in Sri Lanka, be approved? Review in the Cabinet today

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Colombo: The 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which reduces the powers of the President in Sri Lanka, will be sent to the Cabinet for approval today, the Law Minister said. Sri Lanka is reeling under a severe economic crisis as the corona curve tourism sector is paralyzed and foreign exchange is plummeting. People are suffering from lack of basic necessities including food. The government does not even have the money to buy fuel.

The families of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Rajapaksa, who took the country to this point through misguided economic policy, staged a protest demanding his resignation. Following this, Mahinda resigned as the Prime Minister on the 9th. Hours before the resignation, the mercenary avi attacked the fighting people. As a result, 10 people were killed in the violence. More than 200 were seriously injured.

Ranil, the new Prime Minister, is trying to revive the economy. However, Sri Lanka is unable to repay the loan, making it impossible to borrow further. Thus, it stands hand in hand with neighboring India. Moreover, it is trying to get additional funding from the International Monetary Fund. Inflation is heading towards 40 percent. In this situation, Sri Lanka is going bankrupt, said the Governor of the Central Bank.

Opposition parties and the general public have accused the president of handing over supreme power to Sri Lanka. Thus, it is reinforcing demands that the 20th Amendment be repealed and that the 21st Amendment be implemented, in order to re-enact the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which was introduced by then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to give additional powers to Parliament. In this connection, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held consultations with the Attorney General on the 16th. As per the decision taken in this, the 21st Amendment is being amended and sent to the Cabinet for approval today.

In this regard, the Minister of Law Dr. Vijayadasa Rajapaksa said, ‘The 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which reduces the powers of the President and gives additional powers to Parliament, will be sent to the Cabinet for approval today. The amendment would bring in new legislation that would make it impossible for dual citizens to be members of parliament. The amendment also proposes to appoint the Governor of the Central Bank under Parliament.

* There will be no elections until 2024
Sri Lanka is facing severe shortage of essential commodities due to the severe economic crisis. Examinations in schools have been canceled due to non-availability of materials like paper and ink. In this context, the Sri Lankan government has decided not to hold any elections until 2024 until the economy recovers.

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