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When a post claiming that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa had struck a secret deal, over the much debated 22nd Constitutional Amendment, began circulating on Sinhala social media, it landed on fertile ground. The amendment, which proposes amendments to the retirement age of the country’s most senior judges, had already split Parliament and pushed the Opposition into open protest.
Social Media Posts
Below are the posts that carried the claim, which even stated that the President had sent an envoy to Sajith Premadasa, quietly persuading him to stand down from resisting the amendment.
The web article that carried the same claim appears below.
Fact Check
No mainstream news outlet or official source has reported any agreement between the President and the Opposition Leader over the 22nd Constitutional Amendment, which proposes amending Article 107(5) to raise the retirement age of Supreme Court judges to 67 and that of Court of Appeal judges to 65, to increase the number of Court of Appeal judges from 19 to 24, and to cap the Chief Justice’s term at a maximum of six years.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya Rejected the Claim Outright
The Opposition Leader’s office issued a press release on the matter, published through the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s official social media page. It stated that the report published by the Lanka Underground News website, which claimed Sajith Premadasa had reached a secret agreement with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake over the 22nd Constitutional Amendment and had therefore decided to refrain from political action against it, was entirely false, baseless, and misleading.
The statement further clarified that no agreement or communication regarding the amendment had ever been conveyed to Sajith Premadasa through any presidential envoy. The media statement also confirmed that Sajith had taken no decision to halt or suspend any political or democratic action the Opposition had launched against the amendment. The full statement appears below.
When we made our own inquiries, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s media division likewise confirmed that the social media post was entirely false.
The Presidential Media Division Confirmed No Secret Deal
We also contacted the Presidential Media Division, which confirmed that no such secret agreement existed between the President and the Opposition Leader, and verified that the circulating social media post was entirely false.
Sajith Premadasa Told Parliament the 22nd Amendment Would Destroy Democracy
Clarifying his position in Parliament, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said that the government’s proposal to raise judges’ retirement age dealt a fatal blow to the freedom, independence, and democratic character of the judiciary.
He cited a special Supreme Court determination from 2022 (SD 64/71-2022), which held that any change to the retirement age of sitting judges affects judicial independence and therefore requires a public referendum. If the government tried to force the change through, he insisted, it would first have to hold one.
He rejected the government’s claim that extending judges’ retirement age would help clear the backlog of more than 1.1 million pending cases, pointing out that the vast majority of those cases sit in Magistrate’s Courts, District Courts, and Labour Tribunals. Raising the retirement age of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges, he said, would have no bearing on them.
He also questioned the government’s conduct, noting that its “A Thriving Nation , A Beautiful Life” election manifesto made no mention anywhere of raising judges’ retirement age.
The Opposition’s Sustained Resistance
The Minister of Justice and National Integration presented and gazetted the bill in Parliament on 18 August 2026. Mainstream media reported that Opposition MPs staged fierce protests inside the chamber when the bill was tabled.
The Opposition sharply criticised the amendment, arguing that it undermined judicial independence and reflected the government’s attempt to extend judges’ tenure at its own discretion.
Protesters argued that the proposed retirement-age extension was structured to directly benefit certain sitting judges, particularly the current Chief Justice, and that it damaged judicial independence and the principle of the separation of powers. The Opposition and leading legal figures contended that it paved the way for entrenching executive influence over the judiciary. Further details are here.
Challenging the bill, various parties including the Samagi Jana Balawegaya filed more than 21 fundamental rights and special petitions before the Supreme Court. Despite fierce opposition inside Parliament and through the courts, the government and the Justice Minister insisted they would press ahead with the 22nd Constitutional Amendment for legal and judicial reform, whatever the obstacles. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also stated that no decision harmful to the public would be taken, and that the step was essential to make law enforcement more efficient. More details are here, here and here.
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Conclusion
Our fact check finds that the claim of an agreement between the President and the Opposition Leader over the 22nd Constitutional Amendment is false. Both the Opposition Leader’s office and the Presidential Media Division confirmed that no such secret understanding exists, and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s media division dismissed the circulating note as entirely fabricated.
Far from standing down, Sajith Premadasa set out his opposition in Parliament, warning that the proposed extension of judges’ retirement age threatens judicial independence and democracy. The Opposition protested strongly when the bill was tabled on 18 August 2026 and, together with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, has taken the matter to the Supreme Court, the opposite of the quiet deal the viral note described.
Title: No Deal Between President–Opposition Leader on 22nd Amendment: Viral Posts Are False
Written By: B.P Hansani
Result: False
