Executive presidency should not be abolished as long as 13A remains – NJC
April 26, 2018 02:44 pm
The executive presidency should not be abolished as long as the 13th Amendment to the Constitution remains, says National Joint Committee (NJC).
President’s Counsel and NJC member Manohara De Silva commented at a press conference regarding the matter.
He explained that the president corrects an irregularity in a provincial council using the executive powers of the central government on implementing national policies and not through the powers of a provincial council.
Hence if the president does not have executive powers other than his authority over provincial councils, he will automatically lose the power to correct any misdeed of a provincial council, De Silva said.
According to him, should the president lose his executive powers, there will be no way of controlling racist communal policies.
Therefore, abolishing the Executive Presidency while the 13th Amendment remains is dangerous, he warned.
Moreover, senior member of NJC Gevindu Kumarathunga claims that JVP, as a party whose lives had been sacrificed against the establishment of provincial councils, should be ashamed for bringing up and urging a process of abolishing the Executive Presidency.