The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena said this week that he was not convinced by some of the suggestions for appointments to top posts made by the Constitutional Council.
Local media reported that when questioned about differences in opinion between Council members and himself, he was very reluctant to talk, but acknowledged that he did not always agree with them.
“Everybody knows the power of the President after the 19th Amendment of the Constitution. The Constitutional Council takes the final decisions about the promotions. I always tried my level best to get impartial decisions during my tenure in the last three years. I dedicated myself towards it. When some problems arose, I checked and clarified matters with the Attorney General," he was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying.
"I got recommendations from the Chief Justice and the Judicial Services Commission. I did so to avoid any crisis situations. After getting these recommendations I sent the names to the Constitutional Council. There are times that I have not agreed with the constitutional council. Sometimes I agreed with them. I do not like to speak much about it. I think if there is an issue that hampers the promotion of an officer on disciplinary grounds, it is fair that such information is conveyed to me in writing before the recommendation of such names are made to me," he added.
