IANS
Colombo
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to abolish the executive presidency and transfer most of its power to parliament.
President Maithripala Sirisena submitted a cabinet paper seeking to abolish the executive presidential system, Xinhua news agency reported.
The president also sought support for a new electoral system which was approved by the cabinet.
“It is my expectation to introduce a new electoral system which is responsible to parliament, abolish executive presidency and transfer the powers of the president to the parliament and independent commissions,” the president had said earlier.
He also said discussions were being held regarding the establishment of a new constitution, fulfilling the promises given in the election manifesto.
“The new government has taken actions to establish the election commission to fulfill the expectations for free and fair elections, about which there had been a discussion for more than 40 years,” the president stated.
“The new government also has established institutions related to the important areas such as human rights, public service, courts and bribery and corruption,” he added.
President Sirisena, who came to power following elections in January, pointed out that the new government had implemented several plans regarding alleviating poverty, establishing freedom, strengthening free health and education.
Last week, the cabinet vowed to amend laws to increase the number of women in politics and state institutions.
Addressing a weekly briefing in the capital Colombo, media minister and co-cabinet spokesperson Gayantha Karunathilaka said that following a proposal made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the cabinet had agreed to amend the Local Authorities Act in view of having more involvement of women in local politics.
“Although about 50% to 51% of the Sri Lankan population is women, they bear only about 5% from the total number elected to parliament and local government institutions,” the minister said.
President Sirisena had earlier this year proposed to increase the number of women in his government in order to have more women representation.
However, following a parliamentary poll held in August which formed Sirisena’s unity government, international election observers noted that female candidates participating in the poll had been extremely low and Sri Lanka needed more female representation.
Unwise to blame India for blockade: ex-PM
Former Nepal prime minister Baburam Bhattarai has said that the political crisis in southern Nepal could be resolved if the country can redemarcate the boundaries of federal provinces through amendments to the new constitution as demanded by the Madhesis, according to a media report .
The issues relating to five districts - three in eastern Nepal and two in the west - could not be resolved due to the arrogance and personal interests shown by the four leaders belonging to opposition Nepali Congress and ruling CPN-UML, Bhattarai said.
The issue of border dispute has become a subject of debate for the last one year, according to Bhattarai who quit the UCPN-Maoist two months ago to form a new political force.
Bhattarai said he is ready to broker a deal between the agitating Madhesi parties and the government to resolve the current impasse. Urging the government to respond quickly to the demands of the agitating Madhesi parties, Bhattarai warned that the Terai agitation is turning violent and it could get out of hand.
He asked the government to implement the past agreements relating to proportional representation, election constituency determination on the basis of population and redemarcation of the boundaries to address the demands of the Madhesis.
He said that the Terai agitation and blockade of the key trading points between Nepal and India over the past two months have severely damaged the Nepalese economy. The damage to the national economy due to the agitation is nearly double as compared to the damage caused by the devastating earthquake in April, he said.
Nepalese people have faced hardship from time to time due to the leadership’s inability to strike a balance in Nepal’s relationship with its two giant neighbours, India and China, he said. He said although the economic blockade on the Indian border is inappropriate, it is not wise just to blame India without addressing Nepal’s own internal problems.
The issue of Nepal-India relations should be tackled through diplomatic channels, while at the same time the issues raised by the agitating Madhesi parties should also be resolved through political dialogue, Bhattarai said.