Constitutional Assembly members are currently debating the possibility of annulling the parliamentary seats during cross-overs and holding a by-election to discourage unethical cross-overs in Parliament.
A recent media workshop organised by the Constitutional Assembly Secretariat at the Parliament was told that the legislators were strongly in agreement with introducing provisions in the new Constitution to discourage cross-overs between parties after elections.The provisions to be incorporated in the Constitution will call for strict action to cancel their seats but after a fair process such as an internal inquiry.
The possibility of holding a by-election is also being considered to make a pathway for the ousted politicians for re-entry with a fresh mandate from the people. The laws to annual their parliamentary seats, like in the case of Ministers Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake, are still there in the law books but the Ministers in the recent past resorted to move the District Court and obtain restraining orders, blocking any action by the political party. Such restraining orders can be extended up to five years – covering the full term of the government.
The constitution assembly will explore the possibility of shifting such powers from the District Courts to the Supreme Court among other action. Proposals received in this regard by the sub-committees are currently being discussed.When the 19th amendment was introduced last year, these provisions were also proposed to be incorporated but due to objections by certain MPs, it was dropped from the final draft.