COLOMBO, FEBRUARY 18 : The ruling People's Alliance (PA) in Sri Lanka has proposed a series of amendments to the Constitution, including a switch over from executive presidency to the Westminster model of democracy and a change from the unitary form of government.The PA has said that under the proposed provisions, President Chandrika Kumaratunga will continue to function as executive president till the expiry of her six year term, and also exercise the powers of the Prime Minister. Such a Prime Ministerial office will be similar to that which existed under the 1978 Constitution.President J R Jayawardene had effected a change to executive presidency in 1978.The president will not be debarred from becoming a member of parliament during the six year period.The election of a new president shall be one week prior to the end of the current term, who shall later call upon a person who commands the confidence of the house to assume the office of the Prime Minister. Another proposal is a change from the present unitary state policy. The new proposal is: `Sri Lanka is one, sovereign and independent republic comprising regions within a united state which shall be known as the republic of Sri Lanka.Another significant proposed amendment pertains to the national language. Under the proposal, there would be no national language with English declared a link language.The words national language or languages in the Constitution would be replaced by Sinhala, Tamil or English with appropriate modifications.Tamil parties, with whom the government had held consultations, have reportedly agreed to the proposals, but the main opposition United National Party's stand is not yet known, with discussions scheduled later.
