Sri Lanka cabinet moves to clip president’s powers
The Sri Lankan cabinet has approved constitutional reforms that will limit the powers of the president in a move aimed at appeasing the protesters calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit over the country's worst economic crisis in decades.
The decision to amend the constitution to clip the president's wide-ranging powers was taken in a cabinet meeting on Monday, Dinouk Colombage, media adviser for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, told Al Jazeera yesterday.
A draft of the so-called 21st amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution gives some powers back to the parliament and restores independence to commissions in key decision making.
"The 21 amendment was tabled and passed in cabinet today," tourism minister Harin Fernando said in a tweet, adding that the proposal will now be sent to the country's parliament where it needs the votes of two-thirds of its members.
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