What has made President Gotabaya Rajapaksa prorogue the parliament all of a sudden until 18 Jan. 2022? This is the question that the Colombo-based commentariat is trying to find an answer to. Various views are being expressed on the issue, and the government has not given any specific reason for the presidential action at issue, fuelling speculation about a devious scheme.
At the time of prorogation, the parliament had already been adjourned until 11 Jan. 2022, after the 10 December budget vote. The prorogation will cause it to be closed for only seven more days, according to Chief Government Whip and minister Johnston Fernando.
Among those baffled by the prorogation of the parliament are some of ruling party lawmakers themselves. SLPP MP for Kurunegala and former minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa has gone on record as saying that the prorogation goes against the grain because the parliament is usually prorogued only under extraordinary circumstances. The SJB and JVP have adduced several reasons for the prorogation.
President and prorogation
Technically, the prorogation of the parliament means the legislature going into a recess not exceeding two months, and it can be summoned earlier if the President so desires. The Constitution empowers the President to prorogue and summon the parliament at his discretion, according to the Constitution. The President can advance the date of inauguration. The Opposition is urging the President to do so in view of the prevailing economic and health situation in the country.
The Sri Lankan Parliament has been prorogued about 50 times to date since 1947, and it has had more than 25 Sessions since 1978. According to the Parliament website the dates of prorogations and inaugurations are as follows:
§ The First Parliament commenced on 07.09.1978 had Seven Sessions until its dissolution on 20.12.1988;
§ The Second Parliament commenced on 09.03.1989 had Five Sessions until its dissolution on 24.06.1994;
§ The Third Parliament commenced on 25.08.1994 had Three Sessions until its dissolution on 18.08.2000;
§ The Fourth Parliament commenced on 18.10.2000 had Three Sessions until its dissolution on 10.10.2001;
§ The Fifth Parliament commenced on 19.12.2001 had Two Sessions until its dissolution on 09.02.2004;
§ The Sixth Parliament commenced on 22.04.2004 had Four Sessions until its dissolution on 09.02.2010;
(Dissolved Parliament was reconvened on 09.03.2010 and on 06.04.2010 for Emergency Regulations to be passed)
§ The Seventh Parliament commenced on 22.04.2010 had only One Session until its dissolution on 26.06.2015;
§ The Eighth Parliament commenced on 01.09.2015 and had Four Sessions until its dissolution on 02.03.2020;
The Ninth Parliament commenced on 20.08.2020 and has had one session; it was prorogued on 13 December, 2021.
Opposition cries foul
The SJB is of the view that the parliament has been prorogued for the government to carry out a secret deal it has entered struck with India to divest the Trincomalee oil tank farm in return for an economic bailout package, which the country desperately needs. The government is at its wits’ end, unable to find ways and means of raising the much-needed dollars to avoid a sovereign default and pay for essential imports. Therefore, it is ready to do all it takes to shore up the country’s fast depleting foreign reserves, which are at an all-time low—barely sufficient for two weeks, according to some independent economists.
The economy has been in such a parlous state that Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa had to rush to India while the budget 2022 was still being debated in the parliament. What he did was unprecedented; none of his predecessors had travelled abroad in that manner, seeking aid, or any other purpose, during a budget debate. Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe highlighted this fact in the parliament recently. Now, Basil has gone to the US while the country is struggling on the economic front!
No free lunch
India always treads cautiously, where its funds and interests are concerned, and therefore has not made any commitment publicly in respect of Sri Lanka’s request for economic assistance at least as far as what is reported of Basil’s New Delhivisit is concerned. But it is being speculated in diplomatic circles that India is likely to respond favourably, given the Chinese factor that worries it beyond measure. It has got a rare opportunity to lessen its southern neighbour’s dependency on China. But there is said to be no such thing as a free lunch. India will seek to further its interests to the fullest if it chooses to loosen the purse strings although it is not known whether it will go so far as to acquire any strategic assets belonging to Sri Lanka in return for its assistance and be seen to be doing a Shylock. Its approach is likely to be diplomatic and sophisticated.
New Fortress agreement
It has also been claimed in some quarters that the tabling by JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, MP, recently in the parliament, of the government’s secret agreement with the US-based New Fortress Energy company, prompted the President to prorogue the parliament in a bid to avoid a politically-damaging debate on it. But the document is now in the public domain, and, on the other hand, the Opposition can take it up when the parliament reopens. Is the government playing for time?
As for the government’s framework agreement with the US energy firm, the battle is now being fought on the legal front, and the parliament is the least of the government’s problems; it easily mustered 157 votes for its budget, last Friday (10), in what looked like a show of strength. But the agreement in question could entail a high political cost, especially in the run-up to an election.
Former chairman of the COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) Sunil Handunnetti (JVP), has warned that the sale of the 40% stake in the Yugadanavi power plant to the US company will be at the expense of the Employees’ Provident Fund, which is a major shareholder of the venture. The JVP is sure to flog this issue hard enough to gain political mileage in the coming months, and this is a worrisome proposition for the government. The prorogation of the parliament, however, will not help the SLPP counter the Opposition’s campaign against the New Fortress deal.
Even though the parliament stands prorogued, the Opposition MPs can take up the questionable agreement at some other forum; street protests will be much more effective politically than a parliamentary debate.
Dissolution of watchdog committees
It is also believed that the government was not happy with the parliamentary watchdog committees, which had become somewhat independent, and conducted several high-profile investigations which were not to the liking of the powers that be.
According to the parliament website, the following committees stand dissolved due to the prorogation of the parliament, and they have to be reconstituted after the commencement of each session of the parliament.
a. the Committee on Parliamentary Business;
b. the Committee on Standing Orders;
c. the House Committee;
d. the Committee on Ethics and Privileges;
e. the Legislative Standing Committee;
f. the Ministerial Consultative Committees;
g. the Committee on Public Accounts;
h. the Committee on Public Enterprises;
i. the Committee on Public Finance;
j. the Committee on Public Petitions; and
k. the Backbencher Committee.
(The Committee on High Posts, the Sectoral Oversight Committees and Select Committees of Parliament remain as per provisions of Standing Order of Parliament Nos. 124(5), 111(2) and 109 respectively.)
SLPP MP Prof. Charitha Herath, as COPE Chairman, took a tough stand on the controversial SLIIT (Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology) deal and alleged irregularities concerning the national carrier, Sri Lankan, and reportedly irked some SLPP leaders, and this is cited as one of the reasons for the prorogation of the parliament.
Now that the COPE has been dissolved, the government can have Prof. Herath replaced, and someone malleable appointed as its Chairman when the committee is reconstituted. The issues such as the SLIIT takeover, however, will not fizzle out.
Prof. Tissa Vitharana is another parliamentary watchdog committee head, who has ruffled the feathers of the SLPP leaders. He chaired the recently-dissolved Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), which undertook some vital investigations. He is also one of the fierce critics of the New Fortress agreement. What he says of the controversial agreement, as the COPA chairman, carries a lot of weight, and he has obviously riled the SLPP leaders who are all out to put the questionable deal through, come what may. Now, the government can have him also replaced.
Insecurities of government
Some political analysts have claimed that there is a connection between the prorogation of the parliament and the President’s Singapore visit, but he could have gone overseas without shutting down the Parliament, which would have remained closed anyway due to the adjournment until 11 Jan. and there was no reason for him to delay its reopening by seven days by means of a prorogation because of an overseas visit.
A plausible explanation as to the prorogation of the parliament may be that it was due to the insecurities of a cornered government, and the need it has felt for a respite in view of legislative pressure which has been mounting on it during the last several months.
All that the government can achieve from the prorogation of the parliament is a respite, and it cannot wish away harsh politico-economic realities such as the collapsing economy, inability to borrow from foreign sources, intra-coalition disputes, the rapid decline in its popularity, the hostility of the western powers, a possible loss of the GSP Plus. Perhaps, nothing worries it more than the prospect of having to swallow its pride and seek a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund.