CC appointees to get House nod on Sept 22

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The National Unity Government last week finalised nominations to the 10-member Constitutional Council (CC) with a view to urgently reactivating the eleven independent commissions that come under the CC.

The names of civil society representatives are to be submitted to Parliament for sanction by September 22, highly placed sources said, adding that this will result in the immediate reactivation of the CC. Civil society representatives nominated to the CC are, Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, founder Sarvodaya Movement, Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict and Shibly Aziz, President’s Counsel.

Other members appointed to the CC include Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, Ministers Patali Champika Ranawaka, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and W. D. J. Seneviratne and JVP MP Vijitha Herath.

The inaugural meeting of the CC convened on September 10 under the patronage of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya was attended by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, Ministers Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Patali Champika Ranawaka and W.D.J. Seneviratne. In order to fast track its deliberations, the CC decided to meet again on September 21 and 23.

The Speaker, according to sources, had at the first CC meeting stressed on the need to appoint members to CC immediately to prevent delays in the appointment of Independent Commissions. He had also emphasized that the CC should be made operative immediately.

The 10-member CC proposed under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution consists of Speaker, Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, four parliamentarians and three civil society representatives. A parliamentarian nominated by the President will represent the Head of State in the Council.

Meanwhile, Opposition and TNA Leader, R. Sampanthan speaking to the Sunday Observer yesterday, denied he had proposed TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran’s name to the CC.

“The Prime Minister and I jointly proposed the names of Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and JVP MP Vijitha Herath to the CC. I never proposed Sumanthiran’s name,” he said.