The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ilaṅkai nāṭāḷumaṉṟam'') is the supreme
legislative body of
Sri Lanka. It alone possesses
legislative supremacy
Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all ...
and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the island. It is modeled after the
British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
.
It consists of 225 members known as
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs). Members are elected by
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
for five-year terms, with
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...
.
The
President of Sri Lanka has the power to summon, suspend,
prorogue, or terminate a legislative session and to
dissolve the Parliament. President can dissolve Parliament only after the lapse of years or if majority of Members of Parliament requests him. The actions of the president to either suspend or dissolve the Parliament is subject to legal scrutiny of the
Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The
Speaker or, in his absence, the
Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees or the Deputy Chairman of Committees, presides over Parliament.
Powers
Parliament has the power to make laws, including laws having retrospective effect and repealing or amending any provision of the Constitution, or adding any provision to the Constitution.
History
The first legislature established in Ceylon was the
Executive Council and the legislative council, which were established on 13 March 1833 according to the recommendations of the Colebrook-Cameron commission. The
Executive Council was composed of the Colonial Secretary, the officer commanding the Military Forces, the Attorney General, the Auditor-General and the Treasurer. The duties of the council were advisory and the
Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019
The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonialism, colonial powers:
Portuguese Ceylon
* List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551)
* List of Captain-majors of ...
, who presided over their meetings and consulted them, was at liberty to disregard their advice. At first it was made up of only British officials but later included native citizens. At the beginning 16, and later 49 members, were elected for the legislative council, but a limited number of people were qualified to vote.
In 1931 the Legislative Council was dissolved and in its place a more powerful
State Council of Ceylon was established with its 101 members elected by
universal adult franchise as provided by the
Donoughmore Constitution.
Prior to the granting of independence and the establishment of the Dominion of Ceylon on 4 February 1948, a new bicameral parliament was established in 1947, according to the recommendations of the Soulbury Commission after the State Council was dissolved. It was based on the
Westminster model with an upper house, the
Senate, whose members were appointed and a lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives, whose members were directly elected. The House of Representatives consisted of 101 Members (increased to 157 in 1960) and the Senate consisted of 30 Members, of whom 15 were elected by the House of Representatives and 15 nominated by the
Governor-General of Ceylon.
The Senate was abolished on 2 October 1971. On 22 May 1972 when the republican constitution was enacted, the House of Representatives was replaced with the National State Assembly which had 168 elected members. This itself was replaced by the Parliament of Sri Lanka when the constitution of
the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka was enacted in 1977.
In 1987, a
grenade was lobbed into a conference room inside the Parliament complex where government MPs were meeting. Two people were killed and sixteen injured, but the target of the attack, President
J. R. Jayawardene escaped unhurt. The
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna claimed responsibility for the attack.
On 20 August 2015, Two major parties the
United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
and
Sri Lanka Freedom Party have signed
Memorandum of Understanding to form the
National Government in order to address major unresolved issue after the end of 30-year old
ethnic conflict, This is the first time in Sri Lanka's political history that two major parties agrees to work in the joint government.
The Presidential Secretariat announced that the Government will be functioning as joint (
national unity) government comprising two major parties.
United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
leader who won the most seats was appointed Prime Minister
Members and elections
Of the 225 members, 196 are elected from
22 electoral districts, which are
multi-member
An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections ma ...
. The remaining 29 MPs are
elected from National Lists allocated to the
parties
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
(and
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
groups) in proportion to their share of the national vote.
Qualifications
Any Sri Lankan citizen may be elected to parliament unless disqualified to do so under the Article 90 of the Constitution, which includes;
* President of the Republic,
* Public officer, judicial officer or an officer of a public corporation,
* Member of the Regular Force of the Army, Navy or Air Force; with the exception of holders of the rank of
Field Marshal,
* A police officer or a public officer exercising police function,
* Declared as an undischarged bankrupt or insolvent in terms of the applicable law,
* A person stands nominated as a candidate for more than one electoral district or as a candidate for more than one political party or group for the same district,
* A person who is also a citizen of any other country,
* A person adjudged guilty by a competent court or by a
Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry.
Officers
When Parliament first meets after a general election, it will elect three members to serve as the
Speaker,
Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees (known simply as the ''Deputy Speaker'') and the Deputy Chairman of Committees. Whilst presiding, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker wears ceremonial dress.
Parliament Secretariat
The Parliament Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General of Parliament, is in charge of all its administrative duties. Until 1972, the post was known as ''Clerk of Parliament''. The Secretary General is appointed by the President, subject to the approval of the Constitutional Council. The
Sergeant-at-Arms is responsible for the maintenance of law, order, and security on the House's premises and acts also as master-of-ceremonies. The Serjeant-at-Arms carries the
ceremonial mace, a symbol of the authority of the People and of the Parliament, into the House each day in front of the Speaker, and the Mace is laid upon the Table of the House during sittings. Currently, the parliament secretariat administration is divided into nine departments.
These departments are:
*
Department of Serjeant-at-Arms
* Department of Administration
*
Hansard
''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official prin ...
Department
* Department of the Co-ordinating Engineer
* Department of Catering and Housekeeping
* Department of Information Systems and Management
* Department of Legislative Services
* Department of Finance & Supplies
* Department of Communication
The Staff Advisory Committee (SAC) established under the Parliamentary Staff Act provides advice and guidance to the Parliamentary Secretariat with respect to matters concerning Parliamentary staff. The SAC consists of the Speaker (Chairman), the Leader of the House, the Minister of Finance and the Leader of the Opposition. Secretariat maintains the
Speaker's Residence and the
Madiwela Housing Complex Madiwela Housing Complex in the suburb of Madiwela, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is a housing scheme owned and maintained by the Parliament of Sri Lanka for the use of Members of Parliament (MPs) from out side Colombo.
Until the 1980s, MPs from outly ...
for MPs and the nineteen-roomed holiday
bungalow for MPs,
General's House in
Nuwara Eliya. Parliament also owns
Mumtaz Mahal
Mumtaz Mahal (/'/; ), born Arjumand Banu Begum (27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, oft ...
which was the former residence of the Speaker and
Srawasthi Mandiraya
The Srawasthi Mandiraya is the primary office complex of the Western Provincial Council, located in Cinnamon Gardens, a suburb of Colombo. Built in 1913, it saw use for most of its lifetime as a hostel for Members of Parliament from outside Co ...
the former hostel for MPs. These are now used by other government entities.
Parliament buildings
Under the British Colonial government, when the
Executive Council and the legislative councils were set up in 1833, they met in a building opposite Gordon Gardens, which is now the "
Republic Building", occupied by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 29 January 1930 the British Governor of
Ceylon, Sir
Herbert Stanley
Sir Herbert James Stanley, (25 July 1872 – 5 June 1955) was a leading British colonial administrator, who served at different times as Governor of Northern Rhodesia, Ceylon and Southern Rhodesia.
Life and career
Born in England, Stanley w ...
(1927–1931), opened a
building fronting the ocean at Galle Face, Colombo, designed for meetings of the Legislative Council. It was subsequently used by the State Council (1931–1947), the House of Representatives (1947–1972), the National State Assembly (1972–1977) and the Parliament of Sri Lanka (1977–1981). Today the
Old Parliament Building is used by the Presidential Secretariat.
In 1967 under Speaker
Albert F. Peris
Sir Pattiyapathirennehelage Albert Fredrick Peries, KBE (12 May 1905 – 21 September 1967) was the 4th Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Serving as Deputy Speaker Peries first became Speaker with the sudden death of Francis Molamure, ...
, the leaders of the political parties unanimously resolved that a new Parliament building be constructed on the opposite side of
Beira Lake
Beira Lake (/bˈɐjɾɐ/; Sinhalese: බේරේ වැව, translit. ''Bērē væva''; Tami: பேரே ஏரி, translit. ''Pērē ēri'') is a lake in the centre of the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The lake is surrounded by many large ...
from the existing Parliament at Galle Face, but no further action was taken. While
Stanley Tillekeratne
Stanley Tillekeratne ( Sinhala: ස්ටැන්ලි තිලකරත්න) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament
The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්� ...
was the Speaker (1970–77), the leaders of the political parties entrusted the drawing up of plans for a new Parliament building to architects, but the project was subsequently abandoned.
On 4 July 1979, Prime Minister
Ranasinghe Premadasa obtained sanction from Parliament to construct a
new Parliament Building at ''Duwa'', a 5 hectare (12 acre) island in the ''Diyawanna Oya'' (off Baddegana Road, Pita
Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte) about east of
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
. The island was where the palace of the King Vikramabahu III's powerful Minister Nissaka Alakesvara had been situated. It had belonged to
E. W. Perera prior to being vested in the state.
The building was designed by architect
Deshamanya
Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...
Geoffrey Bawa
Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, FRIBA (23 July 1919 – 27 May 2003) was a Sri Lankan architect. He was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation.
Early life
Geoffrey Bawa was born in Colombo on 23 July 1919, the young ...
and built with Sri Lankan funds. On 29 April 1982, the new Parliamentary Complex was declared open by President
J.R. Jayewardene.
Current layout
See also
*
Committee On Public Enterprises (Sri Lanka)
*
Politics of Sri Lanka
*
List of legislatures by country
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 6.8868, N, 79.9187, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Government of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka