SLFP appoints Shantha Bandara as MP

• Bandara fills post vacated by Hizbullah who was appointed Eastern Province Governor

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) member Kuda Vidanalage Shantha Bandara took oath yesterday In Parliament after he was nominated by United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to fill the seat vacated by lawmaker M. L. A. M. Hizbullah, who was recently appointed Governor of the Eastern Province.

Bandara’s appointment was made under Article 99A of the Constitution.

Issuing Gazette Extraordinary, dated 7 January, the Secretary General of Parliament has informed the Elections Commission under section 64 (5) of the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 1 of 1981, as amended by section 6 of the Elections (Special Provisions) Act no.35 of 1988, that a vacancy has occurred in the membership of the 8th Parliament with the resignation of UPFA lawmaker Dr. Alim Muhammad Hizbullah Muhammad Lebbe, who was an elected member as per Article 99A of the Constitution.

The Secretary General, following the instructions of the UPFA, has also nominated Shantha Bandara to fill in the vacancy.

The Election Commission, exercising powers conferred on the Commission by section 64 (5) of the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 1 of 1981, which is to be read together with the provisions of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, has declared Shantha Bandara as a Member of Parliament to fill in the vacancy caused by the resignation of Dr. Hizbullah. 

Former National List MP Dr. Hizbullah, in a letter written to the Secretary General, had held his resignation was a personal decision and had thanked him for the support extended to him during his tenure as a lawmaker. 

(AH)

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