The next Parliamentary meeting is scheduled to be held from 1.00 pm to 6.00 pm following the inauguration of the fourth session of the Eighth Parliament by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on January 3, 2020.
Following the presentation of the Government Policy Statement by the President, the Speaker is scheduled to convene a Party Leaders meeting at 12.30 pm on January 3 as to how the proceedings of the House should be continued with effect from January 7, 2020, Parliamentary sources told the Sunday Observer.
The decision was taken at a special Party Leaders meeting held in the Parliament complex on December 23 under the patronage of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.
Party Leaders representing the ruling party said that the subjects to be debated at the parliamentary session will be announced soon.
As highlights of the January 3 parliamentary session, a new Member of Parliament will take oaths while UNP MP Sajith Premadasa as the new Opposition Leader and the new Leader of the House and the Chief Government Whip will also be announced. The Speaker will also make other important announcements at the next Parliament meeting.
At the December 23 meeting, the Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake and other parliamentary officials have briefed party leaders on the agenda and other matters relating to the festivities of the opening ceremony of the session scheduled for the January 3, 2020.
The meeting chaired by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya was attended by Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri, Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dinesh Gunawardena, Dullas Alahapperuma and Mahinda Amaraweera and Opposition Parliamentarians Sajith Premadasa, Rauff Hakeem, Mano Ganesan, M.A. Sumanthiran, Ajith P. Perera and Niroshan Perera.