Parliament to convene as a Constitutional Assembly on January 9

by Ranil Wijayapala

The constitution-drafting process is to be completed in six months, once the House is convened on January 9 as a committee of the whole house, after adopting a resolution to continue parliamentary proceedings as a Constitutional Assembly, top government sources told the Sunday Observer.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is due to present the historic resolution to the Parliament on January 9, to coincide with the first anniversary of President Maithiripala Sirisena’s election as the Executive President. The House will be convened, after the adoption of the said resolution, as a Constitutional Assembly to formulate Sri Lanka’s third Republican Constitution.

Government sources said, once the draft constitution is approved by the House, it will be submitted to the people at a Referendum for approval.

Given that provision is to be made in the proposed constitution for direct public representation, this requirement is already addressed through a Public Representation Commission consisting of non- MP members, already appointed to gather public views on the constitution- making process.

“Already 20 members have been appointed to this 24- member committee with other four to be appointed in the coming week, once the political parties submit their nominations,” the source added.

The Public Representation Commission will obtain public views by visiting different parts of the country, forming themselves into groups of three.

The Committee will perform this exclusive task for a period of three months and submit a report to the Constitutional Assembly for consideration,” he added.

At its inaugural meeting, the Constitutional Assembly will appoint a Steering Committee headed by the Prime Minister (Chairman), Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the House, the Minister of Justice and not more than eleven (11) other Members of the Constitutional Assembly.

The Constitution Assembly will also appoint various Sub Committees consisting of Members of the Constitutional Assembly to study various aspects that should be included in the new draft constitution. These sub committees are also required to submit their reports within a period of 10 weeks from the date of being constituted as a Sub Committee.

“The consensus draft constitution will be prepared after considering all the reports from the various Sub Committees” the source added.

Once consensus is reached on the draft constitution by the Constitutional Assembly, it will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval. The draft Constitutional Bill will thereafter be submitted to Parliament for a two thirds majority.

Subsequent to this process, the new constitution will be subjected to a referendum for public endorsement, concluding the process, the source further said.