Sept 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka said in the parliament yesterday that the President would not appoint the Constitutional Council until he receives the report of the standing committee appointed to look into the shortcomings of the 17th amendment to the constitution.

The Prime Minister made these comments at the adjournment of the parliament in response to a query made by Opposition Chief Whip Joseph Michael Perera.

Mr. Perera making a special statement at the beginning of the parliamentary sitting asked if the government would appoint the Constitutional Council and when it would occur.

The Prime Minister further stated that he had made a statement in this regard earlier as well and there was no change in the President's stance.

Under the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, several constitutional bodies were created to ensure better performance of certain basic public authorities in the country and Constitutional Council is the most important of these new bodies.

The 10-member Council including the Prime Minister, the Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament is entrusted with selecting appropriate persons to head Sri Lanka's main public authorities to ensure that only highly qualified individuals of the highest integrity would be appointed.