Pro-government left parties to decide on constitutional amendment

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 September 2010, 11:16 GMT]
The Combined Left Front (CLF) that comprises the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), Sri Lanka Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL)) and New Left Front (NLF) is to meet this week to take a final decision on the proposed constitutional amendments. “Final decision would be taken after meeting Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse to apprise him of their position and get his opinion on this issue,” veteran left leader Vasudeva Nanayakara who is currently a national list parliamentarian from the ruling party United Peoples Freedom Alliance, said.

He is the convener of the CLF which is one of the constituent parties of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) with the parliamentary strength of three members including two cabinet ministers.

He added that the CLF opposed most of the constitutional amendments including the extension of the Executive Presidency.

“There are three options before the CLF, one is to totally oppose, the other is to abstain from voting in parliament and the final to support the amendments,” Vasudeva Nanayakara said.

CLF had asked its two cabinet ministers - Prof. Tissa Witharana of the LSSP and D. E. W. Gunasekara of the CPSL - to submit a report on the views of their respective parties to discuss the constitutional amendments removing the restriction of two term executive presidency system.