MR’S right to contest to be authoritatively clarified- GL

Presidential Election

Chairman of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Prof. G.L. Peiris said that efforts were underway to get authoritatively clarified in September whether former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was legally eligible to contest for the presidency again.

Prof. Peiris told Daily Mirror that his side was consulting a team of top lawyers in this regard. He said he was convinced in his own mind that Mr. Rajapaksa could in fact contest again because the related provisions of the 19th Amendment had no retrospective effect.

“We are moving forward with this. There is a very convincing case for arguing that former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga are not debarred from contesting the presidential elections again,” he said.

Quoting the Constitution to support his argument, he said the presidency was established by Article 30 of

the 1978

There is a very convincing case for arguing that former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga are not debarred from contesting the presidential elections again

Constitution introduced by then President J.R. Jayewardene. However, he said this Article was repealed under Section 3 of the 19th Amendment to be substituted by a new Article establishing the presidency afresh.“chapter VIII of the 19th Amendment contains many provisions which drastically reduce the scope of the powers of the President. For example, under the presidency of J.R. Jayewardene, the President could appoint ministers and dismiss ministers at his sole discretion without reference to the Prime Minister. He was required to consult the Prime Minister only where it was deemed necessary,” he said.

However, he said the President could not do so under the concept of the presidency embodied in the 19th Amendment. “The only thing he can do without reference to the Prime Minister is reshuffling portfolios once the ministers have been appointed,” he said.

Likewise, he said the President could dissolve Parliament after a year under the J.R. Jayewardene presidency, but it could be done only after four and half years now unless there is a resolution supported by two-thirds of the total membership in Parliament.

Asserting that there is a wellestablished principle related to statutory provisions including constitutional provisions that they had prospective effect but not retrospective effect, unless there was a specific law making it applicable to the past.“there is a strong case,” he said.

Also, he said the right to elect the president of your choice was the right of a citizen of this country. “If they are to be abridged, it cannot apply to the past,” he said.