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Sri Lanka opposition resists more powers to
president
The Sri Lankan opposition
Tuesday launched protests in and outside
parliament against proposed constitutional
amendments that would boost the powers of the
president. The amendments were formally
proposed by the ruling United People's Freedom
Alliance (UPFA) party and debated ahead of a
vote planned for late Wednesday. The changes,
which were approved by the cabinet last week,
would allow among other things President Mahinda
Rajapaksa to run for a third term in 2016. But
the government needs 150 votes to pass the
amendments in the 225-seat parliament, and the
UPFA has 144 seats. The UPFA was said to have
canvassed at least 12 opposition members for
support. Members of the opposition United
National Party attended parliament dressed in
black Tuesday to protest the proposed changes,
which they called undemocratic. The other main
opposition party, the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi
Peramuna, or People's Liberation Front, was
planning to stage a protest on the route to
parliament later Tuesday.
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Both parties were planning
demonstrations across the country for Wednesday.
The proposed amendments to the constitution
would allow Rajapaksa, elected to his second
term of office in January, to run again when his
current five-year mandate expires. The changes
would also move the power to make key government
appointments from a 10-member council to the
President's Office.
