Eighth Parliament to convene on Sept 1
by Uditha Kumarasinghe
The Eighth Parliament of Sri Lanka will convene on September 1 under
the new national government formed by the UNP- led United National Front
(UNF) for Good Governance and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
The main business of the new Parliament during its inaugural session
will be to appoint a Speaker, Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Chairman of
Committees for the House. The presidential proclamation convening the
inaugural session of the Parliament has already been been issued by
President Maithripala Sirisena, top parliamentary sources said
yesterday.
The new Parliament will include many new faces from both major
political parties, the UNF and the UPFA. Over 60 former parliamentarians
who contested the August 17 general election failed to enter Parliament.
This includes 18 former ministers and State ministers, 21 deputy
ministers and over 22 UPFA heavyweights. However, five defeated UPFA
candidates have been included in the UPFA National List.
The UNF emerged victorious by securing 106 seats, while the UPFA
obtained 95 seats. However, both parties failed to secure an absolute
majority in the 225- member Parliament.
According to the election results, the UNP received 13 bonus seats,
while the UPFA received 12. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) received two bonus seats each. The
composition of the new Parliament remains: UNP (10), UPFA (95), TNA
(16), JVP (6), SLMC (1) and EPDP (1).
Meanwhile, the TNA has already declared its intention of being the
main opposition party, in the event a national government is formed
between the UNP and the SLFP. It has demanded party leader R. Sampanthan,
be recognized as the next Leader of the Opposition.
The TNA secured 16 seats. Informed sources said the swearing-in
ceremony of the new Cabinet is scheduled to take place tomorrow (24).
The new national government will be formed in accordance with the
Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) signed between the UNP and the SLFP
on August 21. A Cabinet of 30 ministers and 40 deputy ministers is
likely to be appointed, sources said. An Information Counter will be
kept open at the Parliamentary Complex from August 24-26 to facilitate
all elected members.
All parliamentarians are requested to make use of the facilities as
arrangements have been made to provide vital information and documents
regarding Parliament procedures.
New members will receive a two-day orientation on 3-4 September. |