We will hold referendum to get new constitution endorsed by people – MR

Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa says there is no point in talking about constitutional reform at the tail end of the tenure of a government and that the matter has to be taken up by a new government elected by the people. 

He said that they will put forward a set of proposals to reform the constitution at the forthcoming presidential elections and that once a new government is in power, they hope to obtain the support of all political parties represented in Parliament for the new constitution.

“We will definitely hold a referendum to get the new constitution endorsed by the people,” he said, delivering a speech in Parliament on Friday.

The former President said there only a few more months left for the next presidential election. “Is there any point in holding a debate on constitutional reform at the tail end of the tenure of a government?” 

He said an initiative to amend the constitution should be taken when a government has been newly elected to office, not as the final task before leaving office.

Rajapaksa charged that though the incumbent government said that they were going to abolish the executive presidency during the election campaign, once elected to power, they pointed to their election manifesto and said that since constitutional amendments can be made only to the extent that a referendum is not made necessary, the executive presidency cannot be abolished. 

“So from the very beginning, the constitutional reform process of this government was riddled with deception and perfidy,” he alleged.

Rajapaksa said they are resolutely opposed to the draft constitution that was presented to Parliament by the Prime Minister. It would have had the effect of dividing Sri Lanka into nine semi -independent states, he claimed.

He also alleged that the draft constitution that was presented to Parliament was prepared by TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran and some NGO activists. He said after presenting it to Parliament, the Prime Minister repeatedly denied ownership of the document. “Ultimately it appears that this government had taken the Tamil National Alliance too for a ride.” 

The Opposition Leader says that there is nothing that the TNA has achieved over the past four and a half years and that MP Sumanthiran always drafts constitutional amendments that will lead to “a separate state without the name”. 

He said they have stated their views very clearly on paper, but at the ground level, the TNA has been directly responsible for depriving the people of the North and East of the two Provincial Councils that his government gave the people. 

He said that without the votes of the TNA, the government would not have been able to obtain the two thirds majority in Parliament to change the PC elections system. “Ironically, it is the TNA that has rendered inoperative the provincial councils system which was introduced as a solution to the North-East problem.” 

The Opposition Leader added that during the past four and a half years, the TNA has worked very closely with the government, however there has been no improvement in the lives of the Tamil people of the North and East. 

He charged that people of all communities have been placed at a disadvantage after this government came into power and that the Tamil people of the North and East may have been affected to a greater extent than other communities.

Rajapaksa said that in 2014, he invited the TNA for a discussion about what they deem to be the problems of the Tamil people, but after a few rounds of discussions, the TNA Parliamentarians stropped coming for those discussions.  

He said that by that time they had decided to defeat his government and to achieve their aims by helping to get the ‘common candidate’ elected. “Today the TNA is neither here nor there.”

Rajapaksa said that participating in constitutional reform under this government is not a feasible option.  The unscrupulous manner in which this government manipulated the legislative process has also given rise to suspicion and damaged their credibility, he claimed.

He stressed that due to the “atmosphere of mistrust” that the conduct of the government has brought about, the opposition cannot collaborate in any constitutional reform process with this government.  

Furthermore there is no point in talking about constitutional reform at the tail end of the tenure of a government. This matter has to be taken up by a new government elected by the people, he said. 

“We will put forward a set of proposals to reform the constitution at the forthcoming presidential elections. This country cannot move forward without clearing up the confusion created by the 19th Amendment.”  

“Once a new government is in power, we hope to obtain the support of all political parties represented in Parliament for the new constitution,” he said, adding that those who genuinely wish to see constitutional reform taking place in this country can join hands with them at that stage. 

“We will not deceive the people by saying that we will amend the Constitution only to the extent that a referendum is not necessary.” 

“We will definitely hold a referendum to get the new constitution endorsed by the people,” Rajapaksa vowed.