Minor parties today met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and warned him that they will defeat the 20th Amendment to the Constitution if it is submitted to Parliament in its current form.
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the minor parties have already agreed that there needs to be more discussions on electoral reforms.
He said that the position of the minor parties, which was communicated to the Prime Minister today, was that the proposed electoral reforms via the 20th Amendment to the Constitution which has now been gazetted, does not favor minor parties or the minorities in Sri Lanka.
Dissanayake said that among those who took part in the talks with the Prime Minister today apart from the JVP, was the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the Tamil National Alliance, Minister Rishad Bathiudeen on behalf of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress and the Democratic People’s Front.
“We informed the Prime Minister that the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, in its current form, looks to accommodate only the major political parties and is a threat to democracy and the future of this country,” Dissanayake said.
He said that the proposed electoral reforms also ignores the rights of the minorities and history has shown how that could spell disaster.
“We feel this bill should not be presented to Parliament and if it is then we will look to defeat it. We informed the Prime Minister about this,” Dissanayake said.
Dissanayake said that the Prime Minister, who is also the United National Party (UNP) leader, had assured that if he 20th Amendment to the Constitution, in its current form, is a threat to minor parties and minorities then his party will also oppose it. (Colombo Gazette)