Ranil say committed to abolishing Exec Presidency
METHMALIE DISSANAYAKE-DEC 12 2018Ousted Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe today (12) said in Parliament that he is committed to abolishing the Executive Presidency, strengthening the Provincial Councils and finding a political solution for the problems of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities, within a framework of an undivided country, through a new Constitution.
Wickremesinghe made this remark speaking after the House passed a motion expressing the support of the majority for him to act as the Premier of Sri Lanka.
Thanking all the Parliamentarians who voted in favour of him, when the said motion was taken up for the vote, Wickremesinghe said that passing it could be considered as a major step to defeat the current political coup in the country.
“In this moment, the words of Former US President Abraham Lincoln ‘the government of the people, by the people, for the people’ comes to my mind. Accordingly, a government should be formed by the people, not by a President. There cannot be a government of the President but a government of the people.”
He further said that all the MPs' despite the differences in their political ideologies are bound to protect the Constitution.
“I must mention that Speaker Karu Jayasuirya put a lot of effort to protect Parliamentary democracy.
This House passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution to scrap the powers of the Executive Presidency and to establish nine independent Commissions. We all contributed to ensure the independence of these Commissions. Because of our work, now the people can enjoy their democratic rights. They were scared to use their rights before,” Wickremesinghe noted.
