By Dasun Edirisinghe reporting from Anuradhapura

There was no legal barrier to former President Mahinda Rajapaka becoming Prime Minister according to the Constitution, former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva said yesterday.

Addressing the UPFA inaugural election rally in Anuradhapura, Silva said that according to the Constitution a person who commanded the confidence of MPs should be appointed the Prime Minister.

Responding to President Maithripala Sirisena’s recent statement that he (Sirisena) would not appoint former President Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister even in the event of UPFA winning the general election, the former Chief Justice said that President was misleading the people as he could not appoint a Prime Minister without the consent of Parliament majority according to the Constitution.

Silva said those who opposed former President Rajapaksa’s return also said that Rajapaksa could not become the Prime Minister as he was disqualified from acting for the President as he had already been the President twice. That argument was untenable, he said.

“I say we will make him the PM on August 17 as the Prime Minister is more powerful than the President according to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. We will not appoint Rajapaksa to act for President Sirisena,” Silva said.

He said that he also had voted for Sirisena at the January 08 Presidential election, but now he regretted having done so.

“I voted for ‘Maithri’ (compassionate), but now he has become a Viree (malicious) – Sirisena,” Silva said, adding that Sirisena and his government were only engaged in a hate campaign at present.

There were two options on August 17: One was to elect Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had strengthened the LTTE by signing the Ceasefire Agreement and the other one was to elect former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had liberated the country from 30 years of terror, the former Chief Justice said.

Courtesy:The Island