14 govt. MPs request Speaker to appoint Select Committee to probe EC violating their privileges

A group of 14 government MPs have submitted a letter to the Speaker of Parliament requesting him to appoint a Select Committee to investigate into incidents of infringement of privileges of MPs by the Election Commission.

The letter cites the appointment of the Elections Commission consisting of five members on December 3, 2020, and their responsibility towards Parliament under Article 1048(3) of the Constitution.

The letter also mentioned that the Commission has failed to report to Parliament on issues related to the Local Government elections and have failed to satisfy all preconditions to hold such an election.

The letter states that if the privileges of the Members of Parliament and the legislature have been infringed, it should be investigated and suitable recommendations should be made on stepts to be taken in this regard.

The Chair and Members of the Committee will be appointed by the Speaker and the Committee will consist of seven members as per the provisions of Standing Order 101.

The Committee has the power to fix its quorum, summon any person to appear before it, require any person to produce any document or record, receive evidence, obtain the services of specialists and experts in relevant fields, and make interim reports from time to time.

The Committee is expected to present its report to Parliament within a period of one month from the first meeting of the Committee or within such further period as Parliament may grant.

The resolution to this effect is to be presented to the House shortly.

None of the MPs who had signed the letter addressed to speaker want their names disclosed for unknown reasons. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)