"Only President can reconvene a prorogued parliament" - Former Speaker W.J.M. Lokubanda

Colombo (News1st): Former Speaker of Parliament W.J.M. Lokubanda stated that according to the constitution, the president has the authority to convene and head the parliament. He stated this at a media briefing held in Colombo today (November 03). He stated that once the parliament is prorogued it becomes silent, strengthless and powerless, but once it reconvenes it becomes strong. The former speaker went onto not that the parliament can only be reconvened by the president as he terminated the term. He said that there are positions in the government that do not exceed politics, and that the position of the speaker is one of them. He added that a speaker is an independent person. Lokubandara noted that he had not entered Sirikotha during his tenure as the speaker. He added that there is no use of showing the majority in parliament. If they want to stand up against Mahinda the only way is by bringing a no-confidence motion or defeating the budget proposal, said the former Speaker. He noted that if that if that does not work they will have to go for an election. He went onto note that all these powers and the power to dissolve parliament are with the president.