Bishop: "I’m afraid you’ve got a bad egg, Mr Jones";
Curate: "Oh, no, my Lord, I assure you in parts it is excellent!" (Punch: 1895)
by Kumar David-March 14, 2015
When Candidate Sirisena reneged on his promise to abolish the Executive Presidency (EP) he became the third leader following CBK and MR who has been deceitful. The Memorandum of Understanding which launched Sirisena’s campaign reads: "The present executive presidential system will be abolished within a hundred days and replaced by a Parliamentary form accountable to the people. Under the Parliamentary system, the President will symbolize national unity and have duties and powers appropriate to the position". There is not a shred of ambiguity. This refers to a figure-head president fulfilling ceremonial functions. Some may opine that that is not a good idea (I will discuss it anon), the point here is that this is what was pledged by Candidate Sirisena and those who backed him. These days I enjoy smirking at friends, comrades and neighbours who were aghast when I suggested in December 2014 that we should pressurize Candidate Sirisena by threatening to withdraw support if he dithered on his promise to abolish EP.