Update, September 25: the debate resumed for a second day and the vote is set for 7 p.m. tonight. See Parliament votes on the 22nd Amendment tonight as the PM defends it as part of wider justice reform.

Parliament takes up the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill and the Judicature (Amendment) Bill today in a Second Reading debate scheduled to run across two sittings, with the vote on both due tomorrow afternoon.

Time has been allocated from 11.30 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. today, and again from 11.30 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. tomorrow, the Department of Communications of the Parliament of Sri Lanka said, according to NewsFirst.

What the vote needs

The 22nd Amendment requires a two-thirds majority to pass, and the government expects to carry it on Friday (25), the Daily Mirror reported. The Judicature (Amendment) Bill needs only a simple majority, the Supreme Court having found its provisions not inconsistent with the Constitution.

The debate follows the court’s determination — announced to the House by Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne — that the 22nd Amendment does not require approval at a referendum under Article 83.

Two wording changes the court required

The determination attached conditions to Clause 2. The Sinhala phrase “හැට හතට එළඹෙන දිනය” is to be replaced with “හැට හත සම්පූර්ණ කළ දිනය” — shifting the trigger from the date a judge turns 67 to the date that year is completed. The court also required a second proviso stating that the six-year term limit in the first proviso will not apply to anyone holding the office of Chief Justice when the Act comes into force.

A record 67 petitions were filed against the bill. The figure is unrelated to the retirement age of 67 the amendment sets, despite the coincidence.

Outside the chamber

The Opposition began a protest at Polduwa Junction, near the parliamentary complex, this morning against the amendment being debated inside, the Daily Mirror reported. The gathering was organised by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, which also invited supporters of other opposition parties to join, Hiru News reported. The SJB announced it yesterday, and the Bar Association has called on parties to release MPs for a conscience vote.

Security has been tightened in and around the parliamentary complex as a result, with a heavy police presence at Polduwa Junction and near the main entrance, the Daily Mirror reported at 11.01 a.m. — half an hour before the debate was due to open.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has alleged that the government is using the amendment to establish one-party rule and to concentrate national power in Pelawatte, Hiru reported, having earlier said the SJB was the first party to raise the alarm over the bill.

Not reported

None of the reports says how the debate time is divided between parties, or names the minister moving the bills. The Daily Mirror gives no figure for police numbers deployed and does not say whether access to the complex has been restricted or any road closed; neither outlet gives a crowd estimate for the protest or names the parties taking part.

Sources