Complaint Against Speaker Made to Inter-Parliamentary Union; Dayasiri Jayasekara
14-Sep-2026.
The fact that a complaint has been lodged against Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), with investigations currently underway, while he continues to hold office, raises questions concerning parliamentary principles and the principles of natural justice, United People's Power (SJB) Kurunegala District MP Dayasiri Jayasekara has said.
He has written to the President and Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), urging them to pay attention to the matter.
In his letter to the IPU, Jayasekara stated:
“I am writing this letter as a Member of Parliament of Sri Lanka to bring to the attention of the Inter-Parliamentary Union a matter directly connected with the protection of parliamentary democracy, the rights and privileges of Members of Parliament, freedom of speech within Parliament, and the independence and impartiality of parliamentary institutions.
“I am a senior Member of Parliament with nearly 20 years of parliamentary experience, having served in successive Parliaments since 2004. I have previously served as Chief Minister of the North Western Province, as a Cabinet Minister and as a State Minister. I currently serve as a Member of Parliament representing the Kurunegala District.
“The Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka has been accused of improperly using State property. While the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption is conducting investigations against him, I have raised a privilege issue in Parliament concerning his continued occupation of the office of Speaker.
“This privilege issue should be dealt with through the established parliamentary privileges mechanism and ultimately examined by the Committee on Ethics and Privileges. However, when I sought permission to raise the matter in Parliament on 10 September 2026, the Speaker refused to allow me to present it and stated that he wished to examine the matter himself.
“This is a matter of serious concern because the complaint directly concerns the conduct of the Speaker and his position in office. The fundamental principle that no person should be a judge in his own case means that a person should not make a decision on a matter in which he has a direct personal interest.
“The Speaker's direct involvement in deciding whether a privilege complaint against himself should proceed raises a clear and serious question concerning the impartiality of the institution.
“The Sri Lankan Parliament has a Committee on Ethics and Privileges to consider questions relating to parliamentary privileges. My privilege issue specifically requests that the matter be referred to this committee for consideration and investigation.
“Preventing the privilege issue from proceeding through the appropriate parliamentary mechanism could weaken the very parliamentary safeguards established to protect Members of Parliament.
“I therefore urge the Inter-Parliamentary Union to pay attention to this matter.”
