(UCAN)Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and rights activists have called on Sri Lankan lawmakers to act more responsibly in parliament and not replicate deplorable behavior as seen in the past.
The call for better parliamentary proceedings followed the recent inaugural session of Sri Lanka’s parliament following a snap election on Nov 14. Previous parliaments have often been criticized for the unruly behavior of lawmakers, according to observers.
“Discipline in parliament was weak in the past,” the 77-year-old cardinal who heads Colombo archdiocese told reporters during a meeting with House speaker Ashoka Ranwala at the Archbishop’s House on Nov. 27.
It is the duty of the speaker to bring decorum back to the House, Cardinal Ranjith added.
Ranwala was elected speaker shortly after the recent polls to elect the 225-member House.
During the inaugural session of the new parliament on Nov. 21, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stressed the need for restoring the dignity of the House and listed it as a top priority of his new government.
The once revered institution has become an “object of public distrust, hostility, and contempt,” the president said.
Many lawmakers in the previous parliament were accused of unruly behavior, including using offensive language and fighting during their term that started in 2020.
In 2023, seven lawmakers, including then-state minister for tourism, Diana Gamage, were suspended for disciplinary issues.
Rushi Almeida, who organized street protests against former lawmakers, said many politicians, including opposition MPs, behaved in a disgraceful manner to pass laws to “further their hidden agendas.”
“This is why people rejected many of them” in the polls, said Almeida.
At least 100 lawmakers in the previous parliament failed to win seats this time round.
“They [lawmakers] behaved like kindergarten kids,” Almeida, a university student from Colombo, told UCA News.
Sukumal Antony, a political analyst and a university lecturer in social science, said incompetent individuals should not be selected to represent people in parliament.
Antony said debates in parliament have been reduced to unproductive arguments, eroding public trust.
“Many of the former lawmakers lacked education,” Antony observed.
To rebuild trust, parliamentary debates “should be more focused and constructive,” he suggested.
