The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to continue with the process initiated by the former Government to draft a new Constitution.
Speaking in Parliament today, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said that successive Governments have taken steps in an attempt to fully settle the Tamil National issue.
He said that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had also assured that the Tamil National issue will be politically resolved.
This, he said included an assurance for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The former Government initiated a process to draft a new Constitution with the participation of the entire Parliament.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in his policy statement delivered in Parliament last week, proposed a new Constitution.
Sumanthiran urged President Rajapaksa to continue with the process already commenced by the former Government to introduce a new Constitution.
In his speech in Parliament last week the President had said that the success of a democracy rests upon the Constitution.
He said that the 1978 Constitution, which has since been amended on 19 occasions, has given rise to many problems at the present time because of its inherent ambiguities and confusions.
“In order to safeguard the security, sovereignty, stability and integrity of our country, it is essential that changes be made to the existing constitution,” the President said.
The President said that whilst preserving the positive characteristics of the proportional representation system, electoral reforms are needed to ensure the stability of the Parliament and to ensure the direct representation of the people.
“Even though elections can be won through numbers, an unstable Parliament that cannot take clear decisions and remains constantly under the influence of extremism is not one that suits the country,” he said.
The President said that issues in the country can be solved through Constitutional reforms that will establish a strong executive, legislature and an independent judiciary that can ensure the sovereignty of the people.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
