A group of party leaders and representatives representing the opposition, led by opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa, met Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena at the office of the Speaker of the Parliament this morning, focusing on three special issues including the holding of local government elections and the allocation of related funds.
The leader of the opposition asked the speaker to pass a resolution in the parliament to release the money reserved for holding the elections in the 2023 budget to hold the local government elections.
The Speaker expressed his agreement.
The leader of the opposition said that the Ministry of Finance should bring the secretary and question him about the non-release of money for the election.
The opposition leader also demanded to convene the parliament immediately.
The leader of the opposition questioned what is the purpose of the parliament if the monetary power passed by the powers of the parliament is suppressed by the power of the executive. The leader of the opposition said that all the five members of the election commission announced the election together and the date was also changed through the gazette. The leader of the opposition said that the president is preparing for a journey for dictatorship.
Professor GL Peiris said that no one has the right to undermine the power of the Parliament, and the Speaker is the representative who has the power to change this situation.
Mr. Dallas Alahapperuma, Member of Parliament, said that the Provincial Councils are currently inactive and the power is in the hands of a representative of the President, and in the future, the local government institutions will also be in the hands of a presidential representative and through that the public representatives will be arrested by the President.
Taking this situation into consideration, the speaker said that a meeting of the party leaders has been called tomorrow and a decision can be made about the future activities there.
The opposition leader requested to call the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance to the relevant party leaders’ meeting.
The speaker said that the decision can be taken based on the agreement of the members of the ruling party.
But the leader of the opposition said that if the money passed in the parliament is violated, the speaker has the right to call for a discussion about it.
