A deepening institutional deadlock unfolds as the Constitutional Council turns down yet another presidential nominee, leaving Sri Lanka’s National Audit Office without leadership and exposing sharp political divisions at the highest level.
The Constitutional Council has rejected a fourth nomination submitted by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for the post of Auditor General, further prolonging an unprecedented leadership vacuum in the National Audit Office.
The latest rejection involved the name of O.R. Rajasinghe, meaning that all four nominations submitted by the President over the past eight months, whether for permanent or acting appointments, have failed to secure approval. As a result, the Department has been without even an Acting Auditor General for the past two weeks, significantly disrupting audit functions and administrative oversight.
O.R. Rajasinghe is an officer currently serving in the Sri Lanka Army and is attached to the Army’s Audit Division. His name was submitted to the Constitutional Council by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya at the Council meeting held last Wednesday.
At the meeting chaired by Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne, only four members voted in favour of the nomination, while five members voted against it. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Ajith P. Perera, together with three civil society representatives, opposed the appointment.
Prime Minister Amarasuriya, Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake, and MPs M. Atambawa and S. Sritharan supported the nomination.
Following the retirement of former Auditor General W.P.C. Wickramaratne, the President first proposed H.T.P. Chandana, whose name was rejected. Dharmapala Gammanpila was then appointed Acting Auditor General, but an attempt to extend his term was also blocked. A subsequent nomination of Senior Deputy Auditor General L.S.P. Jayaratne met the same fate.
