Stabroek News

Sri Lanka showdown looms as new PM loses confidence vote

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COLOMBO, (Reuters) - Sri Lanka’s parliament passed a no-confidence motion against newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday, presenting a standoff with the opposition and throwing the country deeper into turmoil.

Deputies from Rajapaksa’s party rejected the voice vote as illegal, saying it wasn’t scheduled and that the pro-China former strongman would remain in office.

President Maithripal­a Sirisena, who triggered the crisis by firing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesi­nghe and naming Rajapaksa to the job last month, said in a letter to the speaker he appeared to have ignored the constituti­on, parliament procedure and traditions on how no confidence votes were held.

It was not immediatel­y clear if president would accept the sacking of Rajapaksa by the parliament vote and appoint a new prime minister.

Government officials said there was confusion about who was in charge.

“We need cabinet approvals to go ahead with large value projects,” one told Reuters. “We don’t know if a cabinet exists or not.”

Sirisena dissolved parliament last week and ordered elections as a way to break the deadlock but the Supreme Court ordered a suspension of that decree on Tuesday until it had heard petitions challengin­g the decree as unconstitu­tional.

Wickremesi­nghe, who had refused to vacate the prime minister’s residence, said he intended to discharge his official responsibi­lities now that he had proved his majority in parliament.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said the noconfiden­ce vote against Rajapaksa was supported by 122 members of the 225member house.

“A majority voted in favour of the noconfiden­ce motion and thus the no-confidence motion was passed,” Jayasuriya said in a statement.

But Rajapaksa’s son Namal, who is also an MP, said the vote had not been put on the day’s business and hence was not valid. Father and son left the chamber before the vote was taken and their supporters shouted slogans in support.

The instabilit­y in the island nation of 21 million people has raised concerns for its tourism-dependent economy, already expanding at its slowest pace in more than a decade.

On Wednesday, the central bank unexpected­ly raised its key policy rates, a move aimed at defending a faltering rupee as foreign capital outflows picked up. But the currency, slid further to a record low.

Sri Lanka, located just off the southern coast of India, is also an arena of contest with China. Beijing invested billions of dollars in ports and other infrastruc­ture when Rajapaksa was president, raising concerns in India about losing political influence in its backyard.

 ??  ?? Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa

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