Legal experts have said that a Parliamentarian can be appointed as a Cabinet Minister, despite not having taken an oath of office as a Member of Parliament.
Shedding light on the procedure, former Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya also confirmed that a person is only required to be appointed as a Member of Parliament to hold a Cabinet portfolio.
In a statement on social media, he further said that, however, it was not necessary to take the oath as a Member of Parliament.
Meanwhile, a political science expert of the Sri Jayawardenepura University, Professor Vishaka Sooriyabandara also revealed that a Parliamentarian is not required to take the oath of office as a Member of Parliament to be appointed as a Cabinet Minister.
Speaking to local media, Prof. Sooriyabandara said that the gazette that has been issued mentioning the appointment as a Member of Parliament was sufficient to be appointed as a Cabinet Minister.
Prof. Sooriyabandara pointed out that by not taking the oath of office as a Member of Parliament, he only loses the opportunity to vote and speak in Parliament.
The clarifications come as National People’s Power (NPP) member Lakshman Nipuna Aaarchchi, who was recently gazetted as a Parliamentarian but is yet to take oaths in Parliament, is likely to be appointed as a Cabinet Minister under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s new government. (Newswire)