A Constitutional Council Meeting will be held at 6 pm today (24) at the Speaker's Residence under the patronage of its Chairman and former Speaker of the Eighth Parliament Karu Jayasuriya.

The nominations sent by the President, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for the two-member vacancies of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka will be taken into discussion at this meeting.

Accordingly, The President’s nominees are industrialist-cum exporter and Nature’s Beauty Creations Ltd. and Multichemi International Ltd. Chairman Samantha Kumarasinghe and former Central Bank Deputy Governor Dr. Ranee Jayamaha, who was a former chairperson of the Hatton National Bank PLC.

Two members of the Monetary Board, Nihal Fonseka and Dr. Dushni Weerakoon, appointed during the previous regime, resigned with effect from 31 May.

The Central Bank has a unique legal structure where the Monetary Board is conferred with the corporate status and vested with all powers, functions and duties. As the governing body, the Monetary Board is responsible for making all policy decisions and for the management, operation and administration of the Central Bank.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank consists of five (5) members.

The Governor

The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance (ex-officio)

Three (3) non – executive members

The Governor is the Chairman of the Monetary Board and also functions as the Chief Executive Officer of the Central Bank. The Governor and the non-executive Board members are appointed by the President, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance. The term of office of the Governor and the non–executive Board members is six (6) years.

The quorum for Monetary Board meetings is three (3) members. The concurrence of three (3) members is required for decisions of the Monetary Board to be valid. However, in cases where a unanimous decision is required, the concurrence of all five (5) members is necessary.