Sri Lanka PM and Opposition Leader name nominees to the Parliamentary Council

Sri Lanka Prime Minister and Opposition Leader have handed over their nominations to the Parliamentary Council established by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution.

The Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe has named United National Party (UNP) national list MP D.M. Swaminathan as his nominee to the Parliamentary Council while the Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratna has named United People's Freedom Alliance MP A.H.M. Aswar as his nominee.

This Parliamentary Council was introduced by the 18th amendment to the constitution that was passed amidst protest of the opposition. It replaces the powerful Constitutional Council but has powers only to recommend persons to the independent committees.

The Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, and the Speaker are the compulsory members of the committee. The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader can nominate one person each to the committee from the communities that the compulsory members do not belong.

The Opposition Leader previously nominated the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran but the TNA categorically denied the position.

The Speaker's office verified the reception of the letter of appointment of the Opposition Leader's nominee and said the names would be sent to President Mahinda Rajapaksa for approval.