President Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday he will submit a special Cabinet paper today to abolish the Executive Presidency and to bring in a new electoral system. The President said he will suggest to abolish the Executive Presidency and to transfer its powers to Parliament through his Cabinet paper. Elaborating on the matter, President Sirisena said he will abolish the remaining powers of the executive presidency, which are a challenge to democracy and freedom of the people. The President also said that he and the Prime Minister held several rounds of discussions on introducing a new constitution in which the above two issues will figure prominently. He made these observations at a ceremony at Temple Trees to grant dual citizenship to 2,000 Sri Lankan expatriates. “On January 8, 2015 the people gave a clear mandate for political reforms emphasising that they need a change. So within a very short period of nearly 10 months after forming the new government, the present government has been able to fulfill the basic pledges mentioned in the election manifesto including setting up of independent commissions,” President Sirisena said. The President also said the government has also entered into a new journey, achieving its targets which are in line with standards of developed countries. The government source said the President and the Prime Minister have already stated that a new constitution will be presented to Parliament in 2016. It will be passed before September 2017 as a new constitution requires the support of a two third majority in Parliament, he added. Courtesy of the Dailynews.lk