Budget 2019 passed in Parliament

The third reading of the Budget 2019 was passed in parliament with amendments a short while ago.

The Budget proposal was passed with a majority of 45 votes as 119 MPs voted in favor and 74 voted against the Budget.

The United National Front (UNF) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted in favor of the Budget.

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Joint Opposition voted against the budget.

However, the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MPs abstained from voting.

The Budget 2019 was presented to the Parliament on the 5th of March by Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera and the Second Reading Debate of the Budget 2019 commenced the following day. The House passed the second reading of the budget with 119 votes in favor and 76 against on the 12th of March.

The third reading of the debate also known as the Committee Stage Debate commenced from 13th March.

The Appropriation Bill for the year 2019 was tabled at the parliament on the 05th of February.

This year’s Budget proposal is considered significant as it was tabled during an election year.

The Budget was initially expected to be presented in November 2018 but was postponed due to the constitutional crisis which occurred in the country on 26 October when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked sitting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa instead.

A Vote on Account was passed following the reinstatement of Wickremesinghe while the Budget 2019 is expected to cover the last eight months of this year.