COLOMBO, Aug. 3 -- President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Monday (3) his government remains committed to abolishing the Executive Presidency and introducing a new Constitution, but cautioned that building broad national consensus must take priority over a rushed constitutional amendment.

Dissanayake made the remarks during talks with a six-party alliance of Tamil and Muslim political parties at the Presidential Secretariat, where discussions ranged across constitutional reform, long-delayed Provincial Council elections, land disputes and development concerns affecting Tamil-speaking communities.

On Provincial Council elections, Dissanayake noted a Parliamentary Select Committee had already been appointed to examine issues around the co...