19th Amendment for Democratic Transformation
The presidential system is not completely abolished returning to a complete parliamentary system. However, the proposed system cannot also be called a semi-presidential as the powers of the president is not that significant which could trample on parliament or the rights of the people. There is no separation of powers between the legislature and the (political) executive like in a presidential or a semi-presidential system, as the government is firmly anchored in the popularly elected parliament. In that sense, the proposed system is primarily a parliamentary system.
by Laksiri Fernando
( March 8, 2015, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) The proposed 19th Amendment, a draft of which is now available for discussion, will definitely be a watershed in democratic transformation in Sri Lanka and vindicates the mandate given by the people to the newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena and his UNP/SLFP/JHU coalition government.
