'66.2 % Lankans believe reforming Constitution not priority'

A majority of Sri Lankans believe that there are more important issues for the government to address than reforming the country's Constitution, according to a poll by a think-tank.
According to the Centre for Policy Alternatives'(CPA) latest opinion poll, the three key areas that Sri Lankans believe the government should prioritise at present is economy and development, law and order and corruption.
A 66.2 per cent of Sri Lankans believe that there are more important issues than Constitutional reform and transitional justice for the government to address, the CPA said.
This view is held across all provinces except in the north and east, the former war-battered regions.

The results have come at a time when the Lankan government's Constitutional reform process is set to reach its critical phase. The new Constitution will replace the current executive president headed Constitution adopted in 1978.
The political parties represented in Parliament are to submit its Steering Committee report on Constitutional reform this month.

The current unity government headed by the President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had pledged to introduce a brand new Constitution.
Some differences between the two parties have delayed the process. The Tamil minority community wants Constitutional reforms to accommodate a political solution to address their political aspirations.

"The Opinion poll on Constitutional reforms reveals that only 1.1 per cent of Sri Lankans believe that the government's performance since January 2015 has been excellent and does not need any improvements, the CPA said.
"42.3 per cent said that the performance has been good but the government needs to show better results. 23 per cent believe that the government's performance has been bad but it should be given more time to deliver results. 16.5 per cent think that the performance has been very bad and the government should be voted out as soon as possible," it said.
The government leaders have been expressing their willingness to holda nationwide referendum on the new draft Constitution after it will be endorsed in the Parliament with two-thirds majority.