When Parliament is prorogued, only the President has the power to convene Parliament, while the Speaker does not have that power, former Law College Principal and Constitutional Lawyer President’s Counsel Dr. Jayatissa de Costa and former Speaker Joseph Michael Perera said.
“Once Parliament is prorogued, only the President has the power to convene Parliament prior to November 16. The Presidential Proclamation states that Parliament would be convened on November 16, 2018. No one else but the President has the power to change that. Article 70 was substituted by the 19th Amendment and accordingly, the President may, by proclamation, prorogue and dissolve Parliament and now under sub-article 70(3) only the President has the power to reconvene Parliament prior to November 16,” Dr. Costa said.