Tomorrow, on February 7th, the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament will be ceremonially declared open by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
This announcement came from the Legislative Services Department of the Parliament last week, as part of the agenda for the first sitting week of February 2024, as decided by political party leaders.
The Sri Lanka Parliament was prorogued on January 26th, marking the conclusion of the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament. The prorogation was formally declared via a proclamation published in the government gazette, in accordance with the powers vested in the President by Article 70 of the Constitution.
During the opening of a new session, the President has the privilege to preside over the ceremonial opening of Parliament and present the government’s policy statement. This statement, previously referred to as the Throne Speech and presented by the Governor, sets out the government's agenda for the upcoming session.
Following the ceremonial opening, the adjournment debate on the government’s policy statement is scheduled to take place over two days, starting from February 8th to February 9th, running from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Additionally, the Resolution under the Essential Public Services Act is slated for approval without debate on February 8th, before the continuation of the adjournment debate.
Upon prorogation of Parliament, any pending questions and motions are abolished, requiring Members of Parliament to reintroduce them in accordance with the Standing Orders. Furthermore, all committees, except for specific ones such as the Liaison Committee of Parliament, Committee on High Posts, Select Committees, and Sectoral Oversight Committees, must be reconstituted at the beginning of the new session.
The First Session of the Ninth Parliament spanned from August 20, 2020, to December 12, 2021, followed by the Second Session from January 18, 2022, to July 28, 2022. The Third Session took place from August 3, 2022, to January 27, 2023, totaling 106 days of parliamentary sessions by the session's end on January 26th.
