The Opposition today said the moves by the UNP to get the executive presidency abolished by requesting the President to do so was an attempt to cover up its inability to face the presidential election.
Addressing a news conference held at the Opposition Leader’s Office, MP Susil Premajayantha said there were reports of the Prime Minister and UNP MPs requesting the President to abolish the Executive Presidency.
“This is an attempt to get the presidential poll delayed and to cover up the UNP’s inability to face elections. We request the government not to scuttle the country any more. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe keep opening up projects and say that he has plans for the next five years or so. He does not comment on what he has done so far,” he said.
He said the Premier had done nothing to get the executive presidency abolished, to change the electoral system or devolve power, as promised, for the past four years.
“If the executive presidency was abolished, the electoral system should also be changed concurrently. In order to get the electoral system changed, a new delimitation should be carried out and there is no time for it. The government still struggling with the delimitation done for the Provincial Councils. The attempts to get the executive presidency shows that the UNP can’t face the polls and engulfed in intra-party issues. There is no practicality or legality in this as a referendum also needed to abolish executive presidency followed by a two thirds majority in parliament,” he said.
Courtesy: Daily Mirror
