A few days after the promulgation of a bill aimed at abolishing presidential privileges, former presidents Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena met in Colombo yesterday to discuss the possibility of challenging the bill in the Supreme Court, The Sunday Times reports.
The bill, which was promulgated by the Ministry of Justice and National Integration on Thursday, August 1, seeks to repeal the Presidential Privileges Act No. 4 of 1986. Under the bill, all former presidents are eligible for official residences, secretarial allowances, official transport facilities and other facilities, all of which are provided at the expense of taxpayers.
If passed, all five former heads of state will lose all their privileges except their monthly pension of Rs. 97,500 per month. Pensions paid to the widow of a former head of state are also set to be abolished.
The legal team representing the two former presidents is analyzing the privileges enjoyed by former heads of state in regional countries including India, Pakistan, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal, ahead of the legal challenge.