Parliament to reconvene next Tuesday

A special session of Parliament is to be reconvened on March 09 to extend the state of emergency by another month, say Government sources.

On February 17, Adaderana reported the possibility of reconvening parliament for a special session to extend the state of emergency by another month.

Under the headline ‘WILL STATE OF EMERGENCY LAPSE IN MARCH?’ the breaking news reported stated:

The sixth Parliament of Sri Lanka was dissolved at midnight on February 9, through a special Gazette notification issued by the President. Elections for the seventh Parliament are to be held on April 8 this year and its first session is scheduled for April 22.

However, the State of Emergencywhich is renewed every month and which was passed before the dissolution, is to lapse on March 5 and will need to be passed by Parliament for a further month, according to Clause 4.1 of Section 155 of the Constitution.

However, there is a constitutional provision where the President can extend the State of Emergencysans Parliamentary approval, but it is limited to a period of ten days only. Or, the President can, through a Gazette Extraordinary, convene Parliament, already standing dissolved, to pass the Emergency.

Meanwhile, if Parliament is to be convened on March 5, 2010 for the passage of the Emergency, then the term of the Members of Parliament will be revived and be valid till the next General Elections, that is April 8, 2010, according to parliament’s Director, Legislative Services Jagath Gajaweeraarachchi.

Within such a situation, the MPs will automatically become entitled to all perks and facilities enjoyed by them prior to dissolution of Parliament till April 8.

So it is to be seen whether the President will convene Parliament for the approval of the state of Emergency.