Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Monday passed a constitutional amendment in order to curb the president’s power and delegate more power to the country’s parliament. The 21st amendment repeals the 20th Amendment, which reallocated some of parliament’s powers to the president and allowed the president to dissolve parliament.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has pushed for the passage of the 21st Amendment for months. However, the draft now goes to the legal draftsman and then to Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court. Sri Lankan law requires the Supreme Court to affirm the bill’s constitutionality.

Sri Lanka’s economy has struggled since independence in 1948. In April, Sri Lanka announced that it could not pay its foreign debts, causing economic woes. Amnesty International reported in May that human rights, including dissent, are under attack as the crisis worsens. The 21st Amendment would return power to the Parliament, as has been the norm in Sri Lanka’s democracy.