Sri Lanka must repeal 19th Amendment: president

President Maithripala Sirisena has said the 19th Amendment to the Constitution should be abolished to establish good governance and ensure democracy in the future. He made these comments while addressing those gathered at an event to mark the 40th anniversary of the National Housing Development Authority at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

The president added that although the 19th Amendment was introduced due to the monarchical and dictatorial nature of the 18th Amendment, this addition had made it impossible for the country to move forward under a single political leadership and had created political uncertainty.

Incidentally, this revocation was the main component of Sirisena’s election manifesto at the 2015 presidential election.

The president alluded to the breakdown in the governmental alliance, observing that “there is an allegation among the people in this country that the prime minister and I are pulling in different directions. It was the 19th Amendment that created that situation for both sides … The 19th Amendment introduced a system of drawing both sides apart. It caused a huge loss to the country. The government too suffered a great loss.”

He also called for greater integrity amongst the nation’s 1.6 million public servants by requesting them to carry out their duties without taking bribes or engaging in corruptive practices so that the people’s needs could be met in an efficient manner.