Deposed PM’s opponents seek to bar him from Parliament

Sri Lanka’s deposed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is facing a lawsuit challenging his right to hold a seat in parliament amid a bitter power struggle that has driven the South Asian country progressively deeper into crisis.

A petition filed at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday accused Mr Wickremesinghe of doing business with Sri Lanka’s government, a claim if true, would disqualify him from Parliament and dash his hopes of returning to the Prime Minister’s post.

The case against Mr Wickremesinghe alleges he holds shares in a company that prints cheques for state-owned banks. It was filed by a supporter of the overthrown leader’s successor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has been temporarily barred from acting as PM by the Court of Appeal, leaving the country without a functioning government.

The decision was made pending the court’s hearing of a petition brought by Members of Parliament on Mr Rajapaksa’s refusal to step down despite losing two no-confidence motions in November.

Sri Lanka has been in turmoil since October 26 when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Mr Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa, a former president accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

But in the ensuing weeks, Mr Rajapaksa could not muster enough support in parliament, and Mr Sirisena subsequently dissolved the 225-member House and called for snap elections to take place in January. The Supreme Court, however, halted the president’s moves amid a legal challenge, allowing parliament to resume. The top court is due to deliver a verdict on the case later this week. Ajith Perera, a member of Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), told

the lawsuit against the overthrown leader was “filed out of desperation”.

“I am sure the court will throw the case out,” he said.

“They have filed this case to rattle us because they have lost so much face due to previous court decisions.”

In 1999, the Court of Appeal stripped a Sri Lankan legislator of his seat after it found the politician was involved in a company supplying dental equipment to the government. The lawsuit against Mr Wickremesinghe, who insists his sacking was unconstitutional, came after he called for mass demonstrations to pressure Mr Sirisena to reinstate him.

In a statement on Monday, he said he commanded the support of Parliament and Mr Sirisena has until tomorrow to recognise that. Mr Wickremesinghe - who is confident of a top court ruling against Mr Sirisena – said tens of thousands of the party faithful would rally in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, if the President did not heed the court’s decision.