Former Presidential Secretary Austin Fernando, University of Colombo Law Faculty academic Wasantha Seneviratne, and former Ministry of Buddha Sasana Secretary Ranjith Ariyaratne have been appointed to the Constitutional Council as non-parliamentary members.
They replace University of Colombo Law Faculty academic Dinesha Samararatne, Dr. Prathap Ramanujam, and Dr. Anula Wijesundara, whose terms ended earlier this month.
The Constitutional Council is empowered to approve or reject presidential recommendations for key positions, including the Commanders of the Armed Forces, the Chief Justice, judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the Auditor General, the Inspector General of Police, and the Attorney General.
The Council comprises the Speaker, the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition as ex officio members, along with a presidential representative, five nominees of the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition (two parliamentary members and three non-parliamentary members), and a representative of minority parties. The three new non-parliamentary members were appointed with the agreement of Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.
The Speaker, who chairs the Council ex officio, generally does not vote but may exercise discretion if the Council is divided on an issue.