( Sri Lanka Brief 05 October 2025) The government has initiated preliminary work on drafting a new constitution. Senior Counsel J.M. Wijebandara, Director General of Law, announced that a formal plan has been developed to carry out this process efficiently and without unnecessary expenditure of public funds. He emphasized that the initiative will build upon constitutional drafts and committee studies conducted by previous administrations, selectively incorporating elements from those efforts that were funded by the government.
According to Wijebandara, the National People’s Power (NPP) Government aims to focus on aspects of the constitution that have garnered significant public interest—particularly the executive presidency and power-sharing structures. He added that public opinion will be solicited across the country in the coming stages. The Cabinet is expected to assign the relevant responsibilities and authority to a dedicated committee, which will take into account prior studies and reports.
The NPP’s official policy statement outlines the process as follows: “A new constitution will be drafted, presented to the public, discussed, amended as necessary, and passed through a referendum.”
In 2015, a committee led by Senior Advocate Lal Wijenayake was appointed to gather final public input on constitutional reform. The committee submitted its 222-page report to then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on May 31, 2016. The report, reflecting the views of the public, included proposals to uphold the rule of law, strengthen independent commissions, devolve power further to provincial and local governments, and establish an independent and efficient public service. However, no further action was taken on the report following its submission.