Former opposition MPs have called on the Sri Lankan government to reconvene Parliament, nearly a month after Parliament was dissolved, The Hindu reports.
Former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed that, “funds have been allocated for government through the Vote on Account until the 30th of April. From that day onwards until the new Parliament is convened again, the President does not have powers to approve additional expenses.” He highlighted that after this date, the President would not be able to approve funds to tackle the coornavirus outbreak on the island.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran called on the President to look in reconvening parliament online to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to The Hindu, government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said, “whether there is parliament or not, everything is moving…things can’t be smoother.”
The chairman of Sri Lanka’s election commission confirmed that parliamentary elections scheduled for April 25 will be delayed due to the current COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak on the island.
Read more from The Hindu here.
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