In a major turnaround in Sri Lankan politics, the country’s Supreme Court has deemed the decision to dissolve parliament on 9 November as unconstitutional.
The verdict was pronounced by the seven-judge bench on Thursday evening. Chief Justice Nalin Perera delivering the verdict said that if the president wants to dissolve Parliament before four and half years, there must be a resolution passed by two-thirds majority in the Parliament.
“It is a unanimous verdict of seven judges holding that gazette notification of the president dissolving the parliament was done unconstitutionally”, MA Sumanthiran, a President’s Counsel member and MP, who appeared for one of the petitioners said after the verdict.
The petitioner against the president’s judgment hopes that the relevant authorities will finally accept the ruling and act accordingly.
“We are happy that the verdict is unanimous. I am sure that the people of Sri Lanka welcome this wholeheartedly and they are probably relieved that we have established democracy once again. Going forward, I hope that the concerned authority will honour this and act accordingly”, Kanag-Iswaran, the petitioner’s advocate said.
The political crisis on the island nation erupted on 26 October, when President Mathripala Sirisena sacked incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
