The 22nd amendment to the Constitution draft Bill has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers today, Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said.
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had previously claimed that the amendment, as drafted by him, will largely be a restoration of the 19th amendment which will see some of the powers conferred on the president by the controversial 20th amendment will be repealed.
The 19th amendment to the constitution, enacted during the Yahapalana government of former President Maithripala Sirisena and then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe saw some of the executive powers of the president curtailed and parliament significantly strengthened. That amendment was rolled back by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) government after its 20th amendment to the constitution was passed in parliament, conferring the office of the president with even more sweeping powers.