Sri Lankan Political Crisis Grows With Resignation of Deputy Minister
His resignation is seen as an upset for Wickremesinghe’s replacement Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is trying to obtain a parliamentary majority
Adeputy minister resigned on Tuesday from Sri Lanka’s government after the appointment of a former strongman as Prime Minister plunged the country into a political crisis. Sri Lanka has been engulfed in turmoil since President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last month and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The resignation of Deputy Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara came a day after Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said he will continue to recognise Mr Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister until Mr Rajapaksa can demonstrate he controls a parliamentary majority.
In a letter to Mr Sirisena, Mr Nanayakkara said he agrees with the speaker’s stance.
His resignation is seen as an upset for Rajapaksa’s efforts to obtain a majority in parliament. Since his ousting, Mr Wickremesinghe has remained in the prime minister’s official residence and insists he is still the legitimate leader.
Both Mr Wickremesinghe and Mr Rajapaksa claim to command a majority in Parliament.
They are expected to face a floor test when the 225-member house meets next Wednesday after being suspended for about 19 days. Mr Wickremesinghe said in an interview last week that there is credible evidence that Mr Rajapaksa’s party is attempting to buy support in parliament. Lawmakers from Mr Rajapaksa’s party have denied the allegation.
Seven members of Mr Wickremesinghe’s United National Front have defected to Mr Rajapaksa’s side. During the weekend, the Tamil National Alliance — an ethnic minority Tamil party — said it will support a no-confidence motion against Mr Rajapaksa, after one lawmaker from the party joined Mr Rajapaksa’s government.
The Tamil party’s 15 votes could give Mr Wickremesinghe’s camp a decisive edge over Mr Rajapaksa. Separately Tuesday, hundreds of Buddhist monks supporting Wickremesinghe gathered in Colombo and urged Sirisena to end the political crisis and restore democracy. Mr Sirisena has said Mr Wickremesinghe was sacked in part because he and a Cabinet colleague were behind an alleged assassination plot against the president.
Details of the alleged plot have not been disclosed and Wickremesinghe has repeatedly denied the accusation.