Five requests by Opposition MPs to raise questions of parliamentary privilege have been rejected, with the Deputy Speaker telling Parliament on Friday that none showed a breach of privilege.
Deputy Speaker Rizvi Saleh read out an announcement issued by the Speaker. The requests were submitted by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and MPs Dayasiri Jayasekara, Mano Ganesan, Mujibur Rahman and Chanaka Madagoda.
The Speaker’s office examined the requests under the Standing Orders of Parliament and the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act No. 21 of 1953. According to the announcement, none of the matters raised showed a prima facie breach of privilege that would warrant consideration under Standing Order 118.
Saleh said matters relating to parliamentary procedure, the inclusion of business in the Order Book and the scheduling of proceedings are procedural questions. They cannot be treated as breaches of privilege, he said. He added that the matters raised were not offences under the 1953 Act.
He also referred to a ruling issued by the Speaker on 6 October. That ruling held that administrative decisions on parliamentary business and the allocation of debate time cannot be challenged through questions of privilege.
On the no-confidence motion against the Speaker, Saleh said the Committee on Parliamentary Business had given MPs an opportunity to submit an amended motion with the sub judice matters removed. No amended motion was submitted within the set period, so there was no unconditional right to debate the original motion, he said.
Background
A question of privilege is a complaint that the rights or immunities of Parliament or its members have been breached. Under the Standing Orders, the Speaker first decides whether a complaint shows a prima facie breach before the House takes it further.
Several Opposition MPs raised questions of privilege in Parliament earlier this week, including concerns about how the no-confidence motion against the Speaker was handled. Friday’s announcement was the Speaker’s reply to those requests.
A matter is described as sub judice when it is before a court. Parliamentary conventions generally discourage debate on such matters, which is the reason the Committee on Parliamentary Business invited an amended motion.
What it means
With the five requests rejected, the questions of privilege will not proceed to the next stage under Standing Order 118. The no-confidence motion against the Speaker remains in its original form, and the announcement says it has no automatic right to be debated unless an amended version is submitted.
For the public, the dispute is about how much time and priority Parliament gives to Opposition business. The Speaker’s position is that those scheduling decisions are administrative and are not open to challenge through privilege motions.