News
Standing Orders don’t permit Speaker to order vote recount – Opposition
Chief Opposition Whip and Kandy District SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella says that once a vote was taken in Parliament and its results were announced by the Chair, that matter was considered over as per the Parliament’s Standing Orders and there was no provision for a vote recount.
Addressing the media online, MP Kiriella said that he had heard that the Speaker was planning to go for a recount of the votes cast for and against the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill on Thursday (20) in Parliament. “This is shocking news. As per the Standing Orders, once the vote is taken and its results are announced it is over and there cannot be a recount. Parliament Standing Orders do not permit the Speaker to go for a recount after the results are announced. I have been in this Parliament for 32 years, and have not heard of any precedence similar to this. The vote taken on the Bill proved that the government does not have a two-third majority in Parliament. Having failed to muster a special majority for the Bill, the government is pressureing the Speaker to go for a recount as a face-saving exercise. We call on the Speaker not to give in to government pressure. He is not the speaker of the government but the Speaker of Parliament. He is bound to uphold the dignity and supremacy of Parliament.
‘Instead of worrying about its two-thirds majority, the government should worry about the pandemic situation and the plight of the people, especially the vulnerable sections of society badly hit by the ongoing lockdowns.
Meanwhile, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena in a statement said he had received a complaint that two votes had not been counted and investigations were going on to figure out what had happened.
The investigations would be held on the basis of two written requests by Justice Minister Ali Sabry and General Secretary of the SLPP and MP Sagara Kariyawasam that votes of two MPs of the SLPP had not been counted at the final vote on the Bill. Therefore, a technical investigation would be held to find out whether there was a mishap in the electronic voting system in the Chamber. The Speaker said he had instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Information Technology Jayantha de Silva to conduct the technical investigation and submit a report. In addition there would be a separate investigation by former Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Kithulegoda to examine the entire counting process and to provide a report on the matter, the statement said, adding that action would be taken to ensure that there would be no similar occurrences in vote taking processes in the Chamber.
Representatives from the ’The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’ met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday [24th of June] at the Parliament premises.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), which is scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October 2026. Attention was also given to digitalization initiatives, the introduction of digital technologies in schools under new education reforms, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Sri Lanka’s education sector.
Representatives of the Chamber noted that the summit would serve as an important platform for encouraging both local and foreign investment, while also contributing to the shaping of the country’s future economic policies.
The meeting was attended by Krishan Balendra, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Vinod Hirdaramani, Deputy Vice Chairman; Shiran Fernando, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer; Aliki Perera, Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer; and Anagi Rodrigo-Weerasekera, Chief Economist and Head of Economic Intelligence, along with several other representatives.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
A discussion to review the progress of the housing project under which 4,700 houses are being constructed for the Malayagam community with Indian assistance was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.
Under this housing programme, 2,026 houses are to be provided to families identified by the National Building Research Institute (NBRI) as being at disaster risk. The remaining houses are expected to be allocated to eligible workers residing in the plantation sector.
Accordingly, the houses will be provided to Malayagam community families living on estates belonging to 22 Regional Plantation Companies, as well as estates under the State Plantations Corporation, Janawasama and Elkaduwa Plantations.
For the construction of each house, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.8 million, while the Government of Sri Lanka has contributed Rs. 400,000.
During the discussion, Chandrakeerthi instructed officials to ensure that the housing project is completed before the end of this year. He further directed that land identified for the construction of houses be released without delay and that the National Building Research Institute provide the necessary reports to identify suitable land for the project.
The housing project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation and the Plantation Human Development Trust.
Among those present were Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, K. S. Wijayakeerthi; Director General (Engineering), N. D. N. Pushpakumara; Director General (Planning), W. A. K. S. Damayanthi; the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association; and officials from the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation, relevant institutions and plantation companies.
(PMD)
It has been reported that Attorney at Law Rakitha Rajapakshe, the son of former Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged links with the underworld.
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