Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said his government will work on building a “national consensus” rather than “hastily” drafting a new Constitution.

He made the remarks during a discussion on Monday (August 3, 2026) with leaders of political parties and alliances representing the island’s Tamil-speaking minorities in the north and east, and the Malaiyaha Tamils living in the central and southern hill country.

Members of various political formations of Tamil, Tamil-speaking Muslim, and Malaiyaha Tamil communities — who are Sri Lanka’s ethnic minorities — had recently launched a common platform or “medai”, called the Political Council for Tamil-Speaking People, to foreground issues affecting their constituencies.

The common platform comprises the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA), Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA). It has identified a limited programme focusing on three key areas: the introduction of a new Constitution, the early conduct of the long-pending Provincial Council polls, and the resolution of conflicts surrounding people’s land.

According to a statement issued by the President’s office following the discussion, Mr. Dissanayake reaffirmed the government’s position that the Constitution needed to be reformed and the Executive Presidency abolished.

“However, he stressed that, rather than pursuing a hastily drafted constitutional amendment, the priority at this stage is to build a new national consensus. The President emphasised the importance of initiating a broad and inclusive national dialogue to achieve that objective,” the statement said.

Further, the statement highlighted an intervention made by former Jaffna MP and ITAK General Secretary M.A. Sumanthiran, who said a new Constitution should not be “introduced unilaterally” by a single party, as was the case with the Constitutions of 1948, 1972 and 1978. Instead, it should evolve through national dialogue addressing concerns of diverse communities, he had said.

On the question of the much-delayed Provincial Council polls, which the ruling National People’s Power had promised to hold within a year of winning the national elections in 2024, Mr. Dissanayake pointed to the ongoing efforts of a parliamentary select committee tasked with resolving pending issues related to the conduct of the polls.

“We made it clear that postponing the elections on the grounds of awaiting the committee’s report is unacceptable and that urgent action is required to restore the democratic rights of the people. I specifically requested the President to direct the relevant commission to submit its report before the scheduled date so that the electoral process can proceed without unnecessary delay,” ITAK’s Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, the sitting MP for the eastern Batticaloa district, said in a social media post following the meeting.

Opposition MP M. Nizam Kariapper of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress described the group’s meetings with President Dissanayake and Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa as “constructive and encouraging”.

The President recognised the people’s right to Provincial Council elections, while the Leader of the Opposition reaffirmed his commitment to the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, including the devolution of police and land powers, according to a social media post by Mr. Kariapper. “The real test, however, lies in turning these commitments into action. We will continue to engage, advocate, and work tirelessly until these promises become a reality for our people,” Mr. Kariapper said.

The discussion also focused on contestations concerning people’s lands, including those controlled by the military, in the war-affected north and east, as well as the persisting demand of the Malaiyaha Tamils for land rights, and related infrastructure.

On Tuesday, leaders of the Tamil-speaking minority ethnic groups met the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo ahead of Foreign Secretary Vikrim Misri’s scheduled visit on Wednesday.

Published - August 04, 2026 06:50 pm IST