The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, as Head of the Legislature, you bear a special responsibility in ensuring that the Legislature provides a mature and commendable service to the people of our country, while safeguarding the rights of the people’s representatives in Parliament. Your contribution is crucial to implement, at a high standard and quality, the programmes that the 225 Members of this House carry out for the service of the people and the country.

¶ 02 Particularly within this Chamber, treating every Member equally and providing space for the ideas, opinions and visions each Member represents will be central to strengthening democracy, and you are entrusted with that foremost task.

¶ 03 Therefore, we extend our best wishes to you on your appointment as Speaker.

¶ 04 We were compelled to initiate a Motion of No-Confidence against the former Speaker. I pray we will not have occasion to resort to such measures again during this Parliamentary term. We need a stable and strong country. We need a country where the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary — the three pillars of democracy — function robustly to safeguard democratic governance. That is our view, aspiration and common objective.

¶ 05 My best wishes to you!