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Minister Rajapakshe bypassed; 22nd Amendment Bill gazetted

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President Ranil Wickremesinghe

By Saman Indrajith

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was published in the Gazette yesterday by order of the President, day after Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s statement to the media that he had instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Constitutional Reforms to postpone the publication of the particular gazette until the concluison of the upcoming presidential election. According to sources from the President’s Media Division, the amendment, jointly submitted by the President and the Justice Minister, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 09 July.

Consequently, the President’s office had the authority to proceed with publishing the gazette. The Bill seeks to amend paragraph (b) of Article 83 of the Constitution, replacing the phrase “not exceeding six years” with “not exceeding five years.” Sources from the PMD noted that the Secretary to the Ministry  of Justice, Nimal Ranasinghe, was abroad attending an official event in Korea. When approached by the media for comment, Ranasinghe stated that he had not received an official decision from the Minister to halt the gazette’s publication. He confirmed that the President, as one of the two parties submitting the amendment to the Cabinet, possessed the authority to proceed with its publication



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Landslide RED warnings issued to the districts of Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale and Nuwara Eliya extended up to 1600 hrs today [07]

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The Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued  landslide early warnings to the districts of Badulla, Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale, Matara, Monaragala, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura effective from 16:00 hrs on 06.12.2025 to 16:00 hrs on 07.12.2025.

Accordingly,
LEVEL III RED  warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pathadumbara, Kundasale, Pathahewaheta, Panvila, Medadumbara, Doluwa, Thumpane, Udunuwara, Deltota, Ganga Ihala Korale, Pasbage Korale, Yatinuwara, Hatharaliyadda, Ududumbara, Minipe, Udapalatha, Gangawata Korale, Akurana, Poojapitiya and Harispattuwa in the Kandy district, Thumpane, Udunuwara, Deltota, Ganga Ihala Korale, Pasbage Korale, Yatinuwara, Hatharaliyadda, Ududumbara, Minipe, Udapalatha, Gangawata Korale, Akurana, Poojapitiya and Harispattuwa in the Kegalle district, Alawwa, Rideegama, Polgahawela, Mallawapitiya and Mawathagama inthe Kurunegala district, Ukuwela, Naula, Yatawatta, Laggala Pallegama, Pallepola, Matale, Rattota, Ambanganga Korale and Wilgamuwa in the Matale district, and Hanguranketha, Mathurata, Nildandahinna and Walapane in the Nuwara Eliya district

LEVEL II AMBER warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Uva Paranagama, Badulla, Kandeketiya, Bandarawela, Soranathota, Hali_Ela, Meegahakivula, Ella, Welimada, Haputhale, Lunugala, Haldummulla and Passara in the Badulla district, Narammala in the Kurunegala district, Kothmale West, Norwood, Ambagamuwa Korale, Thalawakele, Kothmale East and Nuwara Eliya in the Nuwara Eliya district and Godakawela, Kahawaththa and Kolonna  in the Ratnapura district.

LEVEL I YELLOW warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of  Seethawaka and Padukka in the Colonbo district, Elpitiya and Yakkalamulla in the Galle district, Mirigama, Divulapitiya and Attanagalla  in the Gampaha district, Ingiriya, Bulathsinhala and Horana in the Kalutara district, Pasgoda and Athuraliya in the Matara district, Bibile and Medagama in the Monaragala district, and Kuruwita, Balangoda, Eheliyagoda, Pelmadulla, Kaltota, Kalawana, Openayake, Ayagama, Nivithigala, Imbulpe, Elapatha, Ratnapura and Kiriella in the Ratnapura district.

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618 dead, 209 missing as at 2000hrs on Saturday [06]

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The Situation Report issued by the Disaster Management Center [DMC] at 2000hrs on Saturday [06] confirms that 607 persons have died due to the recent flooding and landslides while another 209 persons were missing.

The death toll in the Kandy district which one of the most affected districts has risen to 232, and 1800 houses have  been fully damaged.The number of missing persons reported is 81

100,124 persons belonging to 29,874 families were being housed at  990 safety centers established by the government.

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Opposition blames govt. inaction for severity of disaster impact

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The government’s failure to act on expert warnings, including advance forecasts on Cyclone Ditwah, had led to the worsening of disaster impact, Udaya Gammanpila, leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, said at a press conference in Colombo yesterday.

Gammanpila accused the NPP government of ignoring 14 key preventive measures, despite alerts from the Meteorology Department, foreign experts, and the media.

Gammanpila said the government had failed to lower the water levels in reservoirs, dredge estuaries, and deploy the armed forces for canal maintenance. Local government bodies were reportedly sidelined, and that led to a delay in cleaning of drains. He said the government had also failed to evacuate people in a timely manner from seven districts identified by the National Building Research Organisation as landslide-prone. It had delayed declaring emergencies or curfews and the deployment of tri-forces to evacuate people in such areas.

Gammanpila said an experienced public official should have been appointed as Secretary to the President to mobilise the state machinery swiftly during the disaster. He said the government had not convened the National Disaster Council.

“These failures worsened the disaster, causing immense hardship, disruption, and loss of life and property to the people,” Gammanpila said.

The government has denied the Opposition’s claims.

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