Sri Lanka said Thursday it was dropping promised plans to strip the president of some of his executive powers after the Supreme Court ruled that the move required a referendum. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he was withdrawing sections of a bill on transferring presidential powers to the premier as part of election pledges to turn Sri Lanka into a parliamentary democracy.
But Wickremesinghe said he was forging ahead with the rest of the key bill including on independence for Sri Lanka's police, judiciary and other state institutions by setting up independent bodies to oversee them.
The decision comes after the Supreme Court ruled that elements of the bill to amend the constitution required a referendum - something the government says is too costly.
"I am prepared to drop the provisions that require approval at a national referendum," Wickremesinghe told parliament as the court's ruling was read out to lawmakers.
President Maithripala Sirisena defeated former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse at the January election partly on public anger over the string of powers that he accumulated during his decade in charge.
The court said removing the president's powers over hiring and firing of government ministers, along with a proposal to give the election commission more authority required a referendum.
Rajapakse, who was commander-in-chief and head of the cabinet, removed the two-term limit on the presidency and also handed himself more powers over the judiciary and public servants.
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