Opposition parties call on Sri Lankan government to release draft of proposed constitutional reforms

Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) has called on the government to release the proposals on constitutional reforms and the 17th Amendment.


UNP parliamentarian Joseph Michael Perera told the local media today that the government needed to release a draft of its proposed constitutional reforms if the UNP is to re-consider its decision to withdraw from discussions with the government.
Perera says that although the government has spoken about the constitutional reforms, the proposals have not yet been made available to the party.
The UNP yesterday decided to suspend talks with the government on constitutional and electoral reforms accusing the government of using the talks to entice opposition members to government ranks.
Meanwhile, the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has also called on the government to release the draft of the clauses in the Constitution the government planned to amend.
JVP politburo member Anura Kumara Dissanayake told ColomboPage that the government has to clearly state its position with regard to the constitutional amendments.
Dissanayake said the government after claiming to introduce a new Constitution was now talking of amending the existing Constitution and therefore needed to be more precise on the matter.
He said the JVP was willing to discuss the proposed constitutional amendments with the government if it provided a clear draft of the clauses that are to be amended and how they would be amended.