‘Target is to devolve power without dividing country’ – Prime Minister

Ranil Wickremesinghe - Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

A majority of parties who have made proposals for Constitutional reforms have come to an agreement on the devolution of power within a unitary Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told journalists in Jaffna.

He added that “our target should be to devolve power without dividing the country. The word ‘unitary’ should be interpreted as one country,’ the Premier said.

The Prime Minister said this in reply to a question posed by journalists when he visited the office of the famous independent ‘Uthayan’ newspaper in Jaffna on Wednesday October 16 and held discussions with its editorial staff.

The Prime Minister said that the power to take the final decision on constitutional reforms rested with Parliament and the people.

Asked whether the constitutional reform process would be further pursued after victory at the Presidential Election Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that after winning the Presidential election a government having a majority should be set up after a Parliamentary election. It was through such a process that Sri Lanka could be raised to the status of a developed country by carrying forward not only constitutional reforms but economic and social reforms as well, he argued.

He said victories obtained for the people with a minority government could be further strengthened and consolidated only through a government having a Parliamentary majority.

(Source: Daily News)