Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Sri Lanka’s parliament passes 20th Amendment

Sri Lanka’s parliament has voted to pass the controversial 20th Amendment to the Constitution, in a move that president Gotabaya Rajapaksa hopes will strengthen his office and remove several constitutional checks and balances on his power.

The amendment was passed with several Opposition parliamentarians voting with Rajapaksa’s ruling Sri Lankan Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), including at least four MPs from the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC). The latest count states that 156 parliamentarians voted for the amendment with 65 votes against.

Now that the amendment has passed with two-thirds majority at the second reading vote it will be moved to the Committee Stage before being taken for final vote

Opposition parliamentarians also called a separate vote on a clause in the 20th Amendment which would allow dual citizens to be elected to parliament.

That too was passed, with 157 voting in favour to 64 against.

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.