Three new MPs take oaths before Deputy Speaker

• MPs from Matara and Kurunegala Districts take oaths
• New MPs to fill vacancies created by demise of two UPFA MPs
• Shantha Bandara sworn in as UPFA National List MP

Three lawmakers representing the United Peoples Freedom Alliance took oaths before Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees Ananda Kumarasiri in Parliament yesterday.

Manoj Prasanga Hewagampalage was sworn in to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Communist Party representative in the UPFA, Matara District MP Chandrasiri Gajadeera, and D.B. Herath was sworn in to fill the vacancy in the Kurunegala District UPFA list, created through the demise of Salinda Dissanayake.

Shantha Bandara, who stepped down soon after the demise of MP Dissanayake, was sworn in for the second time using the provisions of the UPFA National List. Bandara resigned as a National List MP as he was next on the Kurunegala District UPFA list to enter Parliament, but the Election Commission ruled that as he was already an MP when the vacancy opened up, he was not qualified to fill it.

MP Herath, delivering his maiden speech in Parliament, held he entered politics in 1981 and has travelled a long way with many difficulties.

“MP Salinda Dissanayake left us at a crucial moment for the UPFA. The Elections Commission and the Attorney General’s Department took independent decisions, enabling me to become a lawmaker. As per the Constitution, the President will be able to dissolve this Parliament by March 2020. The stability of the Parliament is questioned, and it is proven that a better regime should be elected for the betterment of the people and the country. We are just about to have a Presidential Election, and it is the final hour to decide the fate of the country by selecting the correct leader by listening to the people,” he said.

Manoj Prasanga Hewagampalage, in his maiden speech, held that the country has arrived at an important juncture where its direction should be decided, 71 years after independence. “The country needs political stability. If continued, unless dissolved, this Parliament can continue till August 2020. The Provincial Councils are dissolved, and the Provincial Council elections will not be held and members will not get appointed for another year. So, the decision taken to provide duty-free vehicles to former members of the Provincial Councils is questionable. Following the South African example, we need to have a Truth Commission, and all should get together to take the country forward,” said MP Hewagampalage. (AH)