Week in parliament

A new wave of consensus

The Government and the Opposition on Thursday unanimously elected the speaker to the Seventh Parliament by setting up a perfect example to the entire nation on how the Government and the Opposition should work together to pave the way for a new political culture and uphold the democratic traditions of Parliament.

The appointment of UPFA Hambantota district MP Chamal Rajapaksa as the Speaker unanimously by all the MPs signifies that the Government and the Opposition have reached a consensus on taking joint efforts on behalf of the country. All the Party Leaders who congratulated the newly elected Speaker also expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Government in its good endeavours.

The House also unanimously elected the Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Chairman of Committees by displaying their solidarity and good will of working together to form a new political culture irrespective of petty political differences. Therefore the appointment of Speaker, Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Chairman of Committees were restricted to a very short duration. This indicates the trust placed upon by all the Parliamentarians elected to the seventh Parliament on the august assembly and its newly elected Speaker.

The Secretary General of Parliament, Dhammika Kithulgoda welcomed all the elected MPs when the inaugural session of seventh Parliament commenced. After reading the special communique sent by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Secretary General requested the House to propose a name of a MP to the Speaker's post. Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne proposed the name of UPFA MP Chamal Rajapaksa's name to the speaker's post which was seconded by the UNP Gampaha District MP Karu Jayasuriya. Later the Secretary General announced that MP Chamal Rajapaksa was unanimously elected as the Speaker. Then the newly elected Speaker was conducted to his Chair by Prime Minister and MP Karu Jayasuriya showing the commitment of the Government and the Opposition to uphold Parliamentary traditions.

The Speaker who took his oaths before the House extended his gratitude to all MPs who unanimously elected him to the post of speaker. The Speaker said he would try his level best to safeguard the dignity of the post and act in an impartial manner. Thereafter all the Government and the Opposition MPs took their oaths before the Speaker. Later party leaders made congratulatory speeches on the appointment of new Speaker.

All the leaders during their speeches expressed their pleasure on the appointment of MP Chamal Rajapaksa as the new Speaker who has gained a high reputation among Parliamentarians as a clean and illustrious political figure. They were confident that the new Speaker would perform his duties impartially by safeguarding the traditions and rules of the House.

After the congratulatory speeches were made by the leaders, the Speaker requested the House to propose two names of MPs to the posts of Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Chairman of Committees. UPFA MP Ratnasiri Wickremanayake proposed the name of UPFA Puttalam district MP Priyankara Jayaratne's name to the post of Deputy Speaker which was seconded by the UNP MP John Amaratunga. UPFA MP Nimal Siripala de Silva proposed the name of Chandrakumar Murugesu to the post of Deputy Chairman of Committees which was seconded by EPDP leader MP Douglas Devananda.

The Speaker also announced Ranil Wickremesinghe has been accepted as the Opposition Leader. When it was announced, all the Government members cheered him by thumping their tables.

Before the commencement of the inaugural session of Parliament, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa arrived at the Parliament complex around 8.30 am. They were conducted by Prime Minister and former Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva to the President's Office in Parliament. President viewed the election of the new Speaker and the MPs taking their oaths from the VIP enclosure adjoining to the chamber. First Lady saw her son Namal Rajapaksa becoming the youngest Parliamentarian when he took oaths from the VIP Gallery in Parliament.

A large number of new faces from the Government and the Opposition ranks were observed at the inaugural session. The present Parliament has a large number of youth. As a result of the Government securing 144 seats, some of the Government MPs had to sit in the Opposition as the number of seats in the Government side were not sufficient to accommodate all of them. Quite a good number of faces who were in the previous Parliament were missing in the Parliament.The friendship and the goodwill among the MPs was the striking feature of the inaugural session of Parliament. Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratne in his address to the Parliament said the entire country would be very pleased on the unanimous decision taken by the Government and the Opposition to elect the Speaker. The Premier noted that he was very happy on the consensus reached upon between the President and the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to unanimously elect the Speaker. He was of the view it is the responsibility of the Government and the Opposition to create the necessary environment conducive to the people to live in a just society.

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said he has closely associated the Speaker since 1989. Although there had differences on political idealogies, they never did have any personal clashes. The Speaker represents the entire Parliament. Therefore it is the responsibility of the Speaker to safeguard the rights of both the Government and the Opposition MPs.TNA leader, R.Sampanthan in his address pledged the support of his party towards all the good endeavours of the Government. " We welcome the new peace that has dawned in the country. I hope the new Parliament will try its level best to achieve lasting peace in the country.Democratic National Alliance Leader (DNA) MP Sarath Fonseka congratulated the newly elected Speaker. "Safeguarding the basic principles of democracy should be commenced from Parliament. The people should have a right to represent different political views. The DNA would extend his fullest support on all good endeavours made by the Government on behalf of the country".

SLMC leader MP Rauff Hakeem said the Speaker represents a laudable tradition of political history. This is the first Parliament elected during the post war period. All political parties should reach a consensus to resolve the national question.The JHU MP Ven.Athureliye Rathana thera also expressed his worm wishes to the Speaker. At this general election, the JHU contested under the UPFA banner. In future too, the JHU will act within the Government by safeguarding its identity.

Prime Minister Jayaratne moved the motion to adjourn the House until May 4. After the House was adjourned the Government and the Opposition MPs were seen in the middle of the Chamber greeting each other.