"We didn't anticipate the 19th Amendment to be this bad" - Jayampathi Wickremeratne

Colombo (News 1st): Parliamentarian Dr Jayampathi Wickremaratne accepted once again today (July 25) that unanticipated issues have arisen as a result of the 19th amendment to the constitution. MP Dr Jayampathi Wickremaratne noted that he did not see the changes as things done for one person's benefit. He added that since there was no 2/3rds majority there were dilutions in the draft of the 19th amendment. MP Wickremeratne said the government had to agree to that since it had no 2/3rds majority. We can see today that the dilutions done to the 19th amendment have caused problems. He added that the Presidency has powers and so does the PM, there is a competition among these two and it cannot be halted. He said they did not anticipate this to be this bad. Although Dr Wickremaratne speaks in this manner today, the view that he held with regard to the 19th constitutional amendment was quite a different one. On April 30th, 2015, Dr Wickremeratne spoke words of praise regarding the 19th Amendment and said that the anticipated objectives were reached through it.

"The president's term of office and the period of parliament have been reduced to 5 years. The president's immunity has been limited with regard to his powers. The prime minister can be removed through a simple majority in the event a no-confidence motion is presented. A dual citizen cannot contest parliamentary elections. I believe the powers have been reduced by 60 to 65%."