The 18th Amendment to the Constitution has been approved with a very huge majority.
161 members voted in favour of the Bill while only 17 votes were cast against it. Accordingly, the Speaker announced that the Bill had been ratified with a majority of 144 votes. UNP members were not in the House when the vote was taken up, The debate came to an end after the vote. It is after nine years that an amendment to the Constitution was presented in Parliament. The 17th Amendment was earlier presented in 2001 and approved with 210 members casting votes in favour. This included many parties. However, the 18th Amendment had been approved with a majority of 144 votes, with the involvement of only the Government group. As such, it is a significant event. With the approval of the Bill, Parliamentary proceedings came to an end a short while ago.