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Sri Lankan Cabinet Approves Constitutional Amendment
The Sri Lankan cabinet Tuesday approved the draft for the 17th Amendment to the Constitution for the establishment of four Independent Commissions for the Judiciary, Public Service, Police and Elections, the official Daily News said on Wednesday.
The draft will now be forwarded to the Supreme Court for approval. The draft which includes a provision for the appointment of a nominee by the president to the Constitutional Council had earlier been jointly agreed on by the PA and the JVP.
However, it was vehemently opposed by the joint opposition on the grounds that it will politicize the body with the majority of members being government nominees.
The opposition which has expressed alarm at the situation will propose amendments when it is taken up for debate in Parliament later this month.
The amendment to the constitution is part of the conditions set in the agreement signed between the government and the leftist JVP or the People's Liberation Front early this month, which has enabled the minority government to survive political crisis it faced following the withdrawal of the main Muslim Congress in June.
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