The reason being that according to the 19th amendment to the Constitution, a person holding dual citizenship will lose the opportunity of being appointed as a Member of Parliament.

The Attorney General, citing the 19th Amendment to the Constitution  had pointed out in the case against MP Geetha Kumarasinghe that a person holding dual citizenship cannot be appointed as an MP. The case challenging Kumarasinghe’s eligibility to hold the position of an MP is currently being debated in court and a verdict is expected shortly.

Accordingly, Basil Rajapaksa too had held the ministerial portfolio of Economic Affairs Minister and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa the post of Defence Secretary while holding dual citizenship.