The last-ditch attempts to reach an agreement on the 19th amendment failed last night as the discussions between the government and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party on contentious issues ended without agreement.

SLFP opposed the 19th amendment on two main issues, namely the composition of the Constructional Council and the President acting on the Prime Minister’s advice when appointing the Cabinet of Ministers. A committee comprising of Minister Rauf Hakeem, Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Faizer Mustapha and Prof. Rajiva Wijesinhe was appointed by the president to discuss the matters.

The Attorney General acted as the final ‘arbitrator’ in the committee. The committee held prolonged discussions on the issues but failed to reac an agreement.

The committee informed President Maithripala Sirisena of the outcome late last night.