Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya told Parliament on Thursday that the unity of the National People’s Power parliamentary group would be plain to see when the House votes on the 22nd Amendment, dismissing reports of internal divisions as false.
Speaking during the Second Reading debate on the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill, she said the government bloc is held together by a shared objective rather than individual ambition.
“We do not have personal agendas. We have a common objective. Everyone will see the unity of all 158 members tomorrow evening,”
she said, according to the Daily Mirror.
Amarasuriya said claims of cracks in the parliamentary group were entirely untrue and that its cohesion remained intact, Hiru News reported. She framed Friday evening’s division as a demonstration of the combined strength behind the government’s reform programme.
Public confidence
The Prime Minister also argued that public optimism about the country’s direction is rising. She pointed to a recent railway strike during which, she said, commuters bought extra tickets to make up for fares that went uncollected — offering it as evidence of a public willing to invest in national recovery.
That growing trust, she said, carries expectations the government has to meet: better public services, honest leadership, responsive institutions and a fair judicial system.
The vote
The 22nd Amendment and the Judicature (Amendment) Bill are being taken together in a two-day Second Reading debate that began on Wednesday, with sittings allocated from 11.30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both days and the vote due Friday afternoon.
The Supreme Court has determined that the amendment can pass on a two-thirds parliamentary majority without a referendum. A two-thirds majority in the 225-member House requires 150 votes — fewer than the 158 members the Prime Minister says the government commands.
The bill has drawn opposition on the street as well as in the chamber, with the SJB holding a protest near the parliamentary complex as the debate opened.
