The 21st Amendment to the Constitution which curbs the unfettered powers of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been presented to the Cabinet meeting held today.
A senior government minister told NewsWire that Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa presented the proposal at the Cabinet meeting.
“The Cabinet Ministers have now referred the proposal to the party leaders. It will be approved by the Cabinet next week,” the minister added.
The 21st Amendment is expected to annul the 20th Amendment which gave unfettered powers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment which had made Parliament powerful over the President.
The 21st Amendment to the Constitution also seeks to further strengthen the powers of the existing commissions and to make them independent as well.
“Those who have dual citizenship will be disqualified from their seat in Parliament if this proposal gets passed in parliament,” the senior minister added. (NewsWire)
"21st A to the Constitution was presented to the Cabinet. The Cabinet took the decision to distribute copies of the amendment amongst the Parliament Party Leaders for their observations. Following this, the amendment will be sent back to Cabinet for final approval" PM pic.twitter.com/kAPpspeTzo
— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) May 23, 2022