“Country Needs a new Constitution” – PM Ranil

 

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in an interview with a prominent online news portal yesterday stated that the country needed a new Constitution.

He stated that bringing amendment upon amendment to the current Constitution would be confusing and therefore serious thought should be given to the drafting of a new Constitution.

“The basic issue is that the Constitution was based on a strong Executive Presidency. So, there has to be various and far-reaching amendments in some sections. I think that will require a new Constitution,” he said.

He added that if given the mandate by the people, he would turn the country around as he had done in the past.

Speaking about the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) campaign, the Premier stated that it was a campaign “to give saline to the defeated President Mahinda Rajapaksa” and their intention was not to save the country but to save MR.

“Now, all of a sudden, the UPFA is saying they don’t want the mandate the President received, they want him to follow the man who was rejected. So, there was no chance that you could expect the President to work on those conditions with Mahinda Rajapaksa. It was just a pipedream. They have made the party bankrupt,” he added.