PARLIAMENTARY REPORT
SRI LANKA
THE EIGHTH PARLIAMENT OF SRI LANKA IS DISSOLVED Election Commission informed that elections would be postponed. Noteworthy facts during Eighth Parliament of Sri Lanka The Eighth Parliament of Sri Lanka was convened on 1 September 2015 by a proclamation made by the (then) President. According to Article 62 of the Constitution, the Eighth Parliament consisted of two hundred and twenty-five Members elected in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Composition of the Eighth Parliament with six recognized political parties was as follows:
United National Party (UNP) 106 Members; United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) - 95 Members; Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) - 16 Members; People’s Liberation Front (JVP) - 6 Members; Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) - 1 Member; Muslim Congress (MC) - 1 Member. Since none of the parties obtained the clear majority of 113 Members, a national Government was formed for the first time in the Parliament’s history. The United National Party (UNP) formed a national Government with the United People’s Freedom Alliance
Images copyright: Sri Lanka Parliament/U. G. Nuwan Duminda.
The Eighth Parliament of Sri Lanka was dissolved on 2 March 2020, by a proclamation issued by the President with the new Parliament to be summoned on 14 May 2020. The President had since December 2019 pledged to dissolve Parliament when it completed four-and-a-half years. When he dissolved Parliament, there were no COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka, despite a growing crisis in China, Europe, and East Asia. During this period, political parties and election monitors called for elections to be postponed until the threat had abated. After nominations, the
180 | The Parliamentarian | 2020: Issue Two | 100 years of publishing 1920-2020
(UPFA) because it had obtained the highest number of seats in Parliament. As determined by Article 46(4) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the number of Ministers in the Cabinet would not exceed 48 and the number of Ministers who are non-Cabinet Ministers and the number of Deputy Ministers should not exceed 45. Some of the key statistics during the Eighth Parliament of Sri Lanka were: • There were 62 new Members of Parliament in this term. • 12 women Members of Parliament were elected.
