Parliament passed the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill this evening, abolishing the post. The Bill was carried without a division — no vote was called — after a second reading debate that ran from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the Daily Mirror reported. Hiru News also reported the passage.

That the Bill passed without a division is the notable procedural detail: the abolition of the senior-most post in the military command structure drew no recorded opposition in the chamber.

The Daily Mirror adds that the Bill was first read on August 4, 2025 — a thirteen-month passage from first reading to enactment.

This article was first published before the vote. The original report follows.

Parliament takes up the Bill abolishing the post of Chief of Defence Staff today, with a vote expected at 5:00 p.m., NewsFirst reported. The House convened at 9:30 a.m.

NewsFirst describes the measure plainly as a Bill to abolish the position, and gives the government’s two stated reasons: defence expenditure management, and a judgement that the post is no longer required. The office was originally established to coordinate and manage joint operations among the three armed services.

This settles a week of conflicting descriptions

The Bill’s character has been reported three different ways in the past week. Ada Derana’s account of the parliamentary order paper called it the Chief of Defence Staff (Removal) Bill — wording that suggested a measure governing removal from the office rather than the ending of the office itself, an ambiguity we flagged as unresolved on Monday. The Sunday Times then described it as abolition. NewsFirst now does the same, and the government’s stated rationale — the post is not needed — only fits abolition.

Our own archive has carried the correct short title since May. When the draft was published in an extraordinary gazette on May 15, it was titled the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Act, 2026, repealing the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009. Under that draft the office ceases from the date the Act commences, the officer then holding it is attached back to the armed service he belongs to, and the office’s movable and immovable property vests in the Ministry of Defence.

“Removal” appears to have been a rendering of the Bill’s title rather than its effect.

What is being undone

The Chief of Defence Staff sits at the top of the military command structure, above the commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The post was created in 2009, under the government of then President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to place a unified senior command tier above the three services. Repealing the Act removes that layer and returns the services to direct reporting lines with the Defence Ministry.

It is the first abolition by the current government of a defence structure inherited from that era.

Today’s debate falls on the day Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit Parliament and observe proceedings, as part of the visit in which India and Sri Lanka exchange three defence agreements. The Sunday Times, which first reported the overlap, described it as coincidental.

Update, September 9: Hiru News corroborates

Hiru News has since filed its own report, giving the same account independently of NewsFirst: the Bill is one to abolish the post, it was scheduled for presentation today, the vote is expected at 5:00 p.m., and the two stated reasons are defence expenditure management and the judgement that the position is no longer required. It likewise describes the office as having been established to coordinate and manage joint operations among the tri-forces.

That makes two verified newsrooms describing the measure as abolition rather than removal, and settles the ambiguity noted above. Hiru News still does not name the minister presenting the Bill.

What the six hours were spent on

A six-hour debate that produced no division did not stay on the Bill. Hiru News reports that NPP MP Thushari Jayasinghe, speaking during the debate, told the House that public support for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is growing day by day — that people are bathing his picture in milk, and that when he visited her area she saw people running down through the tea estates and drainage lines to catch sight of him.

The remarks concern the President’s standing rather than the abolition of the Chief of Defence Staff post, and are recorded here as an indication of what the chamber’s time went on. Hiru does not report any contribution addressing the merits of the Bill itself, which is consistent with its passing unopposed.

What the passed Act does

The Daily Mirror’s account of the enacted Bill matches the May gazette draft our archive has carried since the spring. It repeals the Chief of Defence Staff Act, No. 35 of 2009 — legislation originally introduced to coordinate activities between the armed forces and the Ministry of Defence “in accordance with the requirements prevailing at the time” — and abolishes the office with it. On commencement, all movable and immovable property belonging to the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff transfers to the Ministry of Defence.

No report published today names the minister who presented the Bill, states when it will be certified, or says what becomes of the officer currently holding the post.

Sourcing note

Ada Derana was unreachable throughout this cycle — the domain returned a CloudFront 403 on every request. The Daily Mirror served the passage story under two article IDs (349869 and 349877); the accounts are identical.

Sources