Dr Sudath Gunasekara 15.7.2015

Apropos the statement issued over the media yesterday by President Sirisena I am surprised and alarmed as well, over this highly vituperative and rather unwelcome speech he made as a Head of a Government of a democracy. Other than his saying that MR will lose (rather premature and Sumanadasa Abewickrama type forecast) at the forthcoming election there is nothing new in his speech. It is only a mere repetition of the same stale and old stuff he has been airing out from the day he came in to power.

Surprised first, because it doesn’t sounds a speech made by a responsible and a prudent head of a State. People expect much more magnanimity and decorum from their President. It only displays the anger and his personal dislike towards Mahinda Rajapaksa and his desire to take revenge for not making him the Prime Minister, which everybody in this country knows. Had MR made him the PM in time he would have been reciting hosanna even today with relish. Alarmed, because I suspect a broader plan under the carpet to deprive MR of his imminent victory and thereby to deprive the nation the services of a strong Sinhala Buddhist leader which is the need of the hour, than ever before.

I quote below the relevant Section of the Constitution regarding the appointment of the Prime Minister.

Sec 43 (3)

The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament who in his opinion is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament.

This clearly shows that the President has no choice but to appoint the person who commands the majority in Parliament.  It is true that he appoints the PM as provided by law. But the fact remains that it is the voter who elects a person to be the PM. The Presidents opinion in this context has to be based on the actual situation in Parliament. It also has to be based on objective criteria. It can never be his imagination either as what happened when he appointed Ranil as PM in Jan. It is as simple as the majority support in the House. It could be shown either by taking a vote or an affidavit. His opinion cannot be a state of his mind only or personal. He cannot go against the Constitution.

Accordingly after all it is the people of the country who finally decide as to who should be appointed as the Prime Minister as they are the people who select and elect the person as to who should be the PM and not the President. His job is limited to fulfilling his duty by the country in terms of the will of the people as he is empowered by the Constitution of the country. He has no choice but to act according to the Constitution.  If he doesn’t, do that then he is answerable to the Parliament, the people and now to the court as well. I am still surprised as to why no one took up this matter in Parliament when Ranils was appointed and even subsequently in courts after the passage of the 19^th A.

As such if the people of this country elect Mahinda Rajapaksa on Jan 17^th with 113 MPP supporting him, the President has no choice but to appoint him as the Prime Minister. He cannot appoint Ranil or any other member of the UPFA merely because he dislikes MR personally. I am lost to understand as to on whose advice he makes this type of silly public statements.

100 day programme that he talks of fulfilling is a thing of the past. It becomes dead if Mahinda wins the August 17 election with a new manifesto. It is that manifesto that becomes the policy of this country thereafter as it is the wish of the people. Thereafter the 100 day programme will be left to rest along with Ranil and his ‘pina Government’

We all know Maitripla doesn’t want Mahinda Rajapaksa and we also know he hates him as he has said in his statement. But the majority of people, especially the patriotic Sinhala Buddhists masses want him.