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The 20th Amendment (20A) to the Constitution of Sri Lanka was passed on 22 October 2020 by the 225-member Sri Lankan Parliament. 156 voted in favor, 65 voted against and four abstained from the vote.[1][2]
The 20th Amendment became a subject of political controversy when political activists, civil societies, and members of the international community expressed concerns over its bias towards the Rajapaksa family. Critics denounced the amendment as a "constitutional bombshell", deeming it a violation of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.[3]
The amendment reversed most of the reforms and amendments that were introduced by the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka in 2015. The 20th Amendment reinstated most of the constitutional powers to the President that were previously abolished with the 19th Amendment. The 19th Amendment was the first instance in the country's history where executive power was equally shared by the President and the cabinet.
The 20th Amendment was a frequent political objective of the ruling party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and a core campaign objective of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, which recorded landslide victories in both the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential elections, as well as the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election. On 22 October 2020, the amendment was successfully passed with a two-thirds majority in parliament.[2]
- ^ LBO (2020-10-22). "Sri Lanka's Parliament passes 20th Amendment to the Constitution". Lanka Business Online. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
- ^ a b "Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka parliament passes 2nd reading of 20th Amendment to Constitution". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
- ^ "End to Sri Lanka's democracy: Shouldn't it be resisted? | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2020-10-22.