Sri Lanka Parliament Passes Bill Curbing Presidential Powers

Sri Lanka’s parliament voted in favor of a bill to clip the powers of the president in a bid to calm public anger that climaxed with the ousting of former leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa who led the South Asian island nation to its worst economic crisis since independence.

After a two-day debate, initial vote and brief discussions on the sections of the proposed legislation, 174 of the 225-member parliament endorsed the so-called 22nd amendment. That’s a step forward in efforts at political reforms to curb sweeping powers granted to the president and make the position more accountable to the legislature.