President Ranil Wickremesinghe has reportedly informed the Speaker that he will refrain from appointing an Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) due to concerns raised by his legal team about potential election petitions.
According to media reports, sources from the President’s office disclosed that Wickremesinghe’s legal advisors warned that continuously appointing an Acting IGP every two weeks could expose him to election-related legal challenges.
However, this move has drawn criticism from various quarters. Senior lawyer and President’s Counsel, Saliya Peiris, has publicly condemned Wickremesinghe’s decision, calling it a “shameless attempt to circumvent the court order” which he claims the President lacks the grace and dignity to accept. Peiris questioned whether the President’s decision implies that he will also avoid making any other key appointments in the event of a resignation or death of a significant official until the election is over.
Note from Saliya Peiris
There is a news alert saying that Ranil Wickremesinghe has informed the Speaker that he will refrain from participating in appointing an acting IGP since he has been advised by his “legal team” that he would be subject to election petitions. This is another shameless attempt to circumvent the court order which he does not have the grace and dignity to accept. Does that mean that if a key official resigns or dies that RW will not make any appointments until the election? Does that mean RW will stop going round the country distributing lands and benefits to people which impact on the election? This is a clear dereliction of duty on the part of the President. The President has certain constitutional functions that no one else can perform. If he cannot perform these duties then he must temporarily step down and allow the Prime Minister to perform his duties as allowed in the Constitution.
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