MEP: District Councils instead of PCS
Party officials said as an alternative it proposed the district council as the unit of power devolution
The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), an ally of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government, yesterday renewed its call for the abolition of the provincial council system established under the 13th Amendment.
Party officials said as an alternative it proposed the district council as the unit of power devolution. The MEP members of various local authorities and provincial councils met party leader Dinesh Gunawardane recently to discuss the recent political developments regarding the 13th Amendment. MEP is among some of the other political parties that are opposed to the provincial council system.
The party re-affirmed its stand that power should be devolved to district units, without compromising the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. The MEP said it believed that through such an exercise, the linguistic, ethnic and cultural identities of each district could be preserved.
There are different schools of thought within the government on the 13th Amendment. The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the National Freedom Front which are allies of the UPFA are also opposed to the provincial council system. The government has already presented a bill to repeal two main clauses of the 13th Amendment. However, there are 18 Government MPs who have vowed to protect the provincial council system. Five members of the three leftist parties are among them while the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) have expressed concern about moves to dilute the 13th Amendment.