Since the 19th Amendment of the Constitution has not been passed in a formal manner, a fundamental rights petition has been filed before the Supreme Court asking for a verdict that the Constitution will be violated by holding the upcoming presidential election until it is submitted to a referendum and approved.
This petition was submitted by lawyer Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna.
The Election Commission and its members, the General Secretary of the Parliament and the Attorney General have been named as respondents.
The petitioner claims that through the 19th Amendment of the Constitution, Article 70 of the Constitution has been amended to deprive the President of the power to dissolve an elected Parliament after one year has passed.
The petitioner claims that the amendment has not been approved by a referendum even though a Supreme Court bench has ruled that the amendment should be referred to a referendum.
The petitioner has pointed out that the amendment cannot be considered as a law since it has been approved by a referendum and the President has not signed it.
Despite this, he points out that it is wrong to continue to accept the 19th amendment as a law.