2025-12-05
News Categories : News
Naina Thambi Marrikkar Mohamed Thahir was sworn in today (Dec. 05) as a Member of the Tenth Parliament before the Hon. Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne.
After being sworn in before the Speaker, he placed his signature in the Member Roll kept before the Secretary General of Parliament, Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera.
He was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Muhammathu Ismail Muththu Muhammathu, who served as a National List Member of Parliament representing the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Naina Thambi Marrikkar Mohamed Thahir, who completed his school education at the Kalpitiya Thigaly Muslim Maha Vidyalaya, entered politics in 1991 representing the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha. He has also served as the Chairman and as the Leader of the Opposition of the Kalpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha.
2025-12-05
Speaker endorses the Appropriation BillThree other Bills also passed in ParliamentThe Appropriation Bill for the year 2026 (Budget) was passed in Parliament today (Dec. 05) with a majority vote.The vote on the third reading of the Appropriation Bill commenced at 7.30 p.m. The Bill received 158 votes in favour and 1 vote against, and 2 MPs abstained from voting. Accordingly, the Appropriation Bill was passed with a majority of 157 votes.The second reading of the Appropriation Bill for 2026, commonly known as the Budget Speech, was presented to Parliament by Hon. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as Minister of Finance, on 07th November 2025. The debate on the second reading was held for six days, from 08th to 14th November, following which the second reading was passed in Parliament on 14th November with a majority of 118 votes.The Committee Stage debate on the Appropriation Bill was then held for 14 days, from 15 November until today (05). Although the debate was originally scheduled to span 17 days, the number of days was reduced due to the adverse weather conditions and resulting disaster situation experienced in the country.Owing to this situation, several Ministerial Expenditure Heads scheduled for debate on previous days could not be taken up as planned. Therefore, in addition to the Expenditure Head of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the Budget Heads of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development were debated on 03rd December and today, and were passed with amendments.Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne, today endorsed the certificate on the Appropriation Bill for the financial year 2026, in accordance with Article 79 of the Constitution. Accordingly, the Appropriation Bill shall come into force as the Appropriation Act No. 23 of 2025.In addition, three Amendment Bills, the Social Security Contribution Levy (Amendment), the Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment), and the Strategic Development Projects (Amendment) Bills were also passed in Parliament today without debate. Parliamentary approval was also granted for the Resolution under the Public Security Ordinance and the Resolution under the Essential Public Services Act. Furthermore, three Supplementary Estimates were approved today in Parliament.
2025-12-03
A one-minute silence was observed in Parliament in remembrance of all those who lost their lives due to the disaster situation caused by the adverse weather conditions that affected the island.This moment of silence was held today (Dec. 03) in Parliament following a request made by the Hon. Chief Opposition Whip, Gayantha Karunathilaka.
2025-12-02
Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj, has been elected as the President of the Sri Lanka - South Africa Parliamentary Friendship Association for the Tenth Parliament.The revival meeting of the Association was held recently (Nov. 27) at the Parliament premises under the patronage of the Hon. Speaker, Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne. The High Commissioner of South Africa to Sri Lanka, H.E. Sandile Edwin Schalk, attended the event as the Guest of Honour. Several Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, and the Secretary General of Parliament, Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera, were also present on the occasion.Hon. Member of Parliament Sunil Rajapaksha was elected as the Secretary of the Association, while Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) M.L.A.M. Hizbullah was elected as the Treasurer of the Association.During the meeting, both parties highlighted the longstanding relationship between Sri Lanka and South Africa, established in 1994 with the commencement of formal diplomatic ties. They acknowledged the mutual support extended by both countries across several sectors, including multilateral cooperation. Discussions further underscored the potential for deepened collaboration in tourism, education, and trade. The exchange also focused on sharing South Africa’s experience in nation-building and reconciliation processes.Prior to the meeting, the High Commissioner of South Africa paid a courtesy call on the Hon. Speaker. During the discussion, he commended Sri Lanka’s efforts toward fostering national unity and expressed South Africa’s willingness to extend their support.
2025-12-02
The official website of Parliament of Sri Lanka, which has been operating for 19 years, was revamped with numerous new features and launched on 27th November 2025 under the patronage of Hon. Speaker, Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, at Parliament.Hon. Deputy Speaker Dr. Rizvie Salih and Secretary-General of Parliament Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera were also present at the occasion.The official website of the Parliament of Sri Lanka was first created and launched in 2006. Since then, it has been updated twice, and this launch marks the third major redesign of the official parliamentary website.Under the guidance of Hon. Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, and under the supervision of Secretary General of Parliament Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera and the senior management of the Secretariat, the revamping of the website was carried out by the Information Systems and Management Department of Parliament with the assistance of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), in collaboration with Tekgeeks (Pvt) Ltd.The new parliamentary website has been developed to suit modern requirements, allowing easier access and incorporating many additional features. Through the website’s “My Parliament” portal, every citizen is now able to directly engage with Parliament and its Members. By registering on the website, the public can conveniently access services provided by Parliament. In addition, state employees who work with Parliament can also facilitate their official tasks through this registration process.The Parliament website is an award-winning government website and has, been recognized for many years, at national competitions as the “Best Government Website” and “Best Multilingual Website.” Operating in Sinhala, Tamil, and English, the website already has plans in place for further enhancements in the future.Director of the Department of Information Systems and Management of Parliament of Sri Lanka, Mr. N.B.U. Nawagamuwa, along with officials, as well as Managing Director of Tekgeeks (Pvt) Ltd., Mr. Kasun Gamage, and officials from the company, were present at this event.
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