Speaker of Parliament Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne informed the House this morning (5) that he has not yet received the Supreme Court’s decision on the petitions challenging the Local Government Elections (Special Provisions) Bill.

His statement came in response to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa regarding the status of the court ruling.

The Supreme Court had completed hearings on the petitions, which challenged certain clauses of the bill as unconstitutional, and announced on 27 January that its ruling would be confidentially forwarded to both the President and the Speaker.

However, MP Dayasiri Jayasekara countered the Speaker’s statement, pointing out that Cabinet Spokesman Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa had stated during a press conference last week that the Speaker had already received the ruling and would communicate the decision to Parliament today.

A heated situation erupted at this juncture as the Opposition questioned how the Cabinet Spokesperson’s statement contradicted that of the Speaker. The Speaker then put a hold on the arguments, urging the Opposition to take his word on the matter. The Opposition responded that they had no issue accepting the Speaker’s statement.