As the President has announced his resignation, President of the Sri Lanka Bar Association President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris requested all parties to appoint a successor president as soon as possible for the stability of the country.
He also requested that the decisions taken in the Committee on Parliamentary Affairs be implemented immediately.
President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris made this request at a news conference held today (10) in Colombo.
“Today this news conference was called to explain the legal and constitutional situation regarding the situation that has arisen in the country as the President and the Prime Minister have informed that they will resign from their positions in the near future hoping to comment on that situation and the government’s stability.”
We condemn all the acts of violence that occurred yesterday. Some people have been injured by the shots fired at the people who were protesting. Some are hospitalized. Several journalists of the Sirasa Media Network have been brutally beaten by police officers at Fifth Lane. After this incident, the Prime Minister’s private house was set on fire. We totally condemn all these acts of violence.”
“Acts of violence cannot be condoned at all. These acts of violence will only further destabilize the country. The unity among the citizens is disturbed. It also affects the country’s economy negatively. The international image of Sri Lanka is also damaged. We request all parties to refrain from acts of violence, not to support acts of violence. Violent actions delay the realization of the aspirations of the people that we hope for.”
“If a President resigns, his signed resignation letter must be handed over to the Speaker. The position of the President becomes vacant at that time. When the office of President becomes vacant, the Prime Minister becomes the Acting President, Mr. Peiris explained.
“If the Prime Minister is unable to do so, the Speaker will be appointed as the Acting President. Parliament has the power to choose a successor president from among its qualified MPs within one month after being appointed. Should be within a month. It is done by a vote held in the Parliament. To win that vote, a member of parliament must get more than fifty percent of the total votes. 113 votes out of 225 should be obtained. The presidency of this country has been vacant only once. That situation arose after the death of President Premadasa on the first day of May 1993. At that time, Prime Minister DB Wijetunga was appointed as Acting President within a few hours. Within a week after that, on May 7th, Parliament filled that vacancy. The new president elected the parliament.”
The BASL requested to complete this process of appointing an interim President soon.
“We request that this transition from the position of the current president to the appointment of a new president be completed quickly. Because there cannot be uncertainty in this country. We cannot delay the process for the economy and for the stability of this country.”
The current President informed that he will resign on the 13th. We request the President, the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the Members of Parliament and the party leaders to complete the process of selecting the successor President. The government of this country should be stable. There should be a government for the people of this country to get the essentials for the people. The country’s economy is in a very uncertain state.
“We request that this process be done without any delay. It is extremely important. Also, it is requested to implement all the decisions made in yesterday’s party leadership meeting,” the BASL President stressed.
Courtesy: Colombo Page
