Sri Lanka's new Parliament convened; speaker and others elected
The Hindu
Sri Lanka's new parliament convenes with NPP's historic victory, first-time members elected to key positions.
The new parliament of Sri Lanka was convened on Thursday (November 21, 2024) for the first session after the ruling NPP’s historic electoral landslide victory a week ago.
At the start of the new session of the 10th parliament since 1978, the National People’s Power's (NPP) Ashoka Ranwala was elected house speaker while Rizwie Salih was elected deputy speaker.
ALSO READ: An overturning of Sri Lanka’s old political order
Himali Weerasekera, a female member, was elected the deputy chairman of the committee.
The significant feature in the appointment was that all three elected to the high offices are first time members of parliament, which is an unprecedented occurrence in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary history.
Speaker Ranwala, a chemical engineer, represents the NPP elevation to the highest office through decades of public agitations. He was a trade union leader in the state fuel entity, CPC and organisation often hit by leftist trade union activism.
The NPP created history in the November 14 election by winning 159 seats in the 225 member assembly and a majority elected from both government and opposition are first time members.
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