Referendum on prez poll not possible without 2/3 House majority

Amidst continuing controversy over UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara’s proposal that both presidential and parliamentary polls be put off by two years, senior lawyer Manohara de Silva, PC, said that an amendment could be introduced to extend the President’s term.

The constitutional expert, however, emphasised that in terms of Article 83, the incumbent President required 2/3 in parliament to approve it and by the people at a referendum, both of which amounted to a pipedream.

Responding to The Island query, the lawyer compared such an amendment with the fourth Amendment to the Constitution that authorised the first parliament to continue for an additional period of six years till August 4, 1989.

Manohara de Silva explained that then President J.R. Jayewardene could do as he enjoyed an overwhelming 5/6 majority in parliament, whereas now the UNP has been restricted to just one National List slot.The SLPP that elected UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as President in July 2022 to complete the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksas’s turn has rejected the UNP’s proposal (SF)