Petition challenges Ranil Wickremesinghe's parliamentary seat

Colombo (News1st): A petition has been filed with the Court of Appeal seeking a writ of quo warranto to prevent Ranil Wickremesinghe from functioning as a Parliamentarian, citing he is a shareholder of a private company that entered into agreements with government institutions. The petition was filed by Colombo Municipal Councilor Sharmila Gonawela. The petition claims Ranil Wickremesinghe is a shareholder of Lake House Printers & Publishers and according to the companies annual reports he is 09th largest shareholder from 2014 and 2018. It adds the company had printed checkbooks, Employee IDs, Credit and Debit Cars for Bank of Ceylon, People's Bank and National Savings Bank which were established as public enterprises by Parliamentary Acts. The petition goes on to note Ranil Wickremesinghe from 2014 to 2018 had personally enjoyed dividends from these contracts. The petition cites that Ranil Wickremesinghe can no longer hold a position in parliament according to section 91 (1) (e) of the constitution. Sharmila Gonawela in the petition requests the court of appeal to issue an interim injunction order preventing Wickremesinghe from functioning as an MP until the petition is taken up and concluded. 5 individuals including Ranil Wickremesinghe, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and General Secretary of Parliament Dammika Dasanayake have been named as respondents. Speaking to the media Colombo Municipal Councilor Sharmila Gonawela stated that a similar case was filed against Rajitha Senaratne and he lost his parliamentary position. She noted that Ranil Wickremesinghe has entered into agreements with a reputed government sector entity and obtained financial benefits without revealing it to the country, therefore, they are challenging his parliamentary position.