Status Of Parliament And Parliamentary Elections

Former parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on April 17 issued a statement outlining the status of Parliament and the parliamentary elections.

He said he had been contacted by religious leaders, politicians, parliamentarians and several others seeking a clarification on the current impasse between the Election Commission and the Executive on the parliamentary elections.

“Sri Lanka and the world are faced with an unprecedented health and economic crisis. As the prospect of a constitutional crisis further compounding the plight of our country is a matter of grave national concern, I am setting out my position publicly rather than replying to each query individually,” the former speaker said. He pointed out that while every country in the world was putting aside political differences and uniting to face this threat, Sri Lanka was the only democracy to face COVID-19 crisis without a legislature to pass laws and financial appropriations to combat the pandemic and its economic consequences.

The following is his statement on this contentious matter: