I refer to Dr G.L Peiris’s interview extracts published by the Sunday Island on 6th December. He says “Any legislative measure to abolish the executive presidency must satisfy two conditions – it must be supported by a two-third majority in parliament and endorsed by the people at a referendum”. This of course is correct.
But why does he assume that there will not be a 2/3 rd majority for the motion on abolition of the Executive Presidency? Even if the UNP and JVP cannot agree on common policy they have already agreed on the abolition of the Executive Presidency. What happens thereafter will depend on these parties agreeing on a new governmental structure or continuing with the present structure say, without abolishing the Executive Presidency as visualized by Dr G.L Peiris.
Dr G.L Peiris seems to have forgotten what happened between 2001 and 2004 under the UNP Gvoernment of which he was a Minister.
There is provision in the Constituion for a Cabinet of Ministers in Art. 43. The Cabinet is given full power and the President is the Head of the Cabinet. So there is provision in the Constitution in the event of the President losing control of Parliament to have a Cabinet form of government as was practiced under President CBK in 2002-2004 when  Ranil was the Prime Minister.If Fonseka does not seek to act unilaterally like MR but work in consultation with the Cabinet the form of government is workable even without the President not having control of Parliament. I think the Presdient not being a member of a political party is a very salutary feature for he cannot then control Parliament and can be held accountable to Parliament. There was no justification for MR to woo Opposition members to his government with ministerial and other goodies which some would say were unethical.   JRJ’s Constitution has this unique feature that the country can have either an Executive Presidency or a Cabinet form of government. The present Constitution provides for a Cabinet as well. The only question is whether the President or the Parliament is in charge.
In fact I think in future no candidate for Presidency should be a member of a political party at least for the previous one year.
If the UNP does not command a majority then a coalition  will have to be built up. Coalition governments are inevitable with Proportional Representation and given the divisions of the people on ethnic and religious grounds. This however is not an impossible or even impractical situation. It will prevent the majority community from suppressing the rights of the minorities as happened under the first past the post system.
Can Fonseka if he is elected carry on as an Executive President without the support of the JVP and UNP in Parliament? He cannot and hence there is no prospect of Fonseka going back on his commitment to abolish the Executive Presidency without a majority in Parliament to support him. Assume that Fonseka goes back on his word to abolish the Executive Presidency and it continues. Can he exercise the executive powers like MR? Dr GLPs argument even if valid will only mean that we revert to the system that prevailed under CBK with Ranil as Prime Minister from 2001-2004.General Fonseka will remain as Executive President but will not be able to exercise the powers of the Executive President although as Dr GLP says the executive presidency system will survive. The rest of Dr GLP’s arguments are pure speculation. A Coalition of the UNP and JVP on an agreed agenda is feasible as was shown earlier when the JVP formed a Coalition with the SLFP.