“Don’t Ignore The Role Of Minor Opposition Parties” by Thrishantha Nanayakkara

This is the backdrop on which we are going for the general election in August 2015. Again, I want to stress on the significance of the minor party politics in the parliament. Whenever, a major party secured undue power, they chose to do divisive and Nationalistic politics brewing a polarization between North and the South. The antidote seems to be a strong minor party block that appreciates the need for good governance, rule of law, democracy, and National reconciliation. Traditionally, minor conventional leftist parties and the Muslim Congress have settled down to conform with the ruling party in exchange of ministerial positions. Therefore, that block should come from minor parties that have traditionally stood by their principles. Due to this reason, I would dream of that block to come from TNA and JVP with a strong will to defend above National priorities and to hold the major parties accountable for it, so that they will do more of that politics to win over the vote base of minor parties than doing more of Nationalistic and divisive politics. Having said that, I would strongly urge JVP to abandon their traditional tactics of waiting till a disaster happens to make their point, and to be a more active driving force in the opposition with determination to engage positively.

see: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/dont-ignore-the-role-of-minor-opposition-parties/

“Sri Lankan president dissolves parliament” by Dinouk Colombage

The Sri Lankan President, Maithripala Sirisena, has dissolved his country’s Parliament, 160 days after assuming office in January this year.

It was also announced on Friday night that the Parliamentary elections will be held on August 17, while the new Parliament is scheduled to meet on September 1.

The dissolution ends weeks of speculation after the President promised to dissolve Parliament 100 days after his victory in the January presidential election.

via: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/sri-lankan-president-dissolves-parliament-150626162034921.html

“Sri Lanka increases Parliament size to 237” by T. Ramakrishnan

Conscious of strong opposition to its earlier decision on retaining the size of Parliament at 225 as part of the proposed 20th Constitutional Amendment, the Sri Lankan Cabinet on Friday decided to increase the number of Members of Parliament to 237. Of this figure, 145 members will be elected through the system of First Past The Post (FPTP) whereas the remaining 92 will be under proportional representation (PR). Within the tally of 92, the component of district PR will have 55 members and the national list will have 37.

via: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sri-lanka-increases-parliament-size-to-237/article7310282.ece

“35 Member Second Chamber Proposed with 15 for Sinhalese, 15 for Tamils and Muslims and 5 for Others Like Veddahs, Malays, Burghers, Colombo Chetties etc” by Sumanasiri Liyanage

35 Member Second Chamber Proposed with 15 for Sinhalese, 15 for Tamils and Muslims and 5 for Others Like Veddahs, Malays, Burghers, Colombo Chetties etc” by Sumanasiri Liyanage
via: https://t.co/QeDdq6xhBx

“Rajapaksa To Dissolve Parliament Before Bowing Out” by Colombo Telegraph

“An emergency cabinet meeting has been summoned at which the President is expected to announce dissolution. As sitting President, Rajapaksa is empowered to dissolve the parliament until the Elections Commissioner declares the final result.”

via: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/rajapaksa-to-dissolve-parliament-before-bowing-out/

“POLL: The sexism in Sri Lanka’s Parliament” by Groundviews

Sri Lanka’s Parliament has an ignoble track record of sexism. In June, the entire country was shamed by its inclusion in the Guardian’s Top 10 sexist moments in politics, anchored to an offensive comment by the Rajapaksa regime’s Minister of Transport Kumara Welgama against fellow MP Rosy Senanayake.
Not to be outdone, we now have the Speaker of Parliament, Chamal Rajapaksa (brother of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa) reported in web media noting that women taking the lead sometimes obstructs work in progress and furthermore that they also impede justice.
One recalls that Sri Lanka’s first female Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake, was unceremoniously ousted earlier this year by the Rajapaksa regime (read The devastating impeachment of the Chief Justice in Sri Lanka: Interview with Asanga Welikala).
What do you think about the Speaker’s sexist comments?

Take the Groundviews poll here.

source: Groundviews