Cash flow blocked

Sri Lankan lawmakers bar disputed prime minister from using state funds.

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan lawmakers approved a motion barring disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa from using state funds after he lost two no-confidence votes, in an escalation of the country’s political crisis.

The motion was passed with 123 votes in the 225-member Parliament as Rajapaksa supporters boycotted the proceedings for a third day, accusing Speaker Karu Jayasuriya of breaching parliamentary rules.

The passage of the motion was a setback for Rajapaksa because it demonstrated that a majority of lawmakers oppose the former strongman, who ruled Sri Lanka as president from 2005 to 2015.

Sri Lanka has been in a political crisis since Oct 26, when President Maithripala Sirisena fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa.

Both claim to be the legitimate officeholder, with Wickremesinghe saying he has majority support in Parliament.

Rajapaksa moved into the prime minister’s office, while Wickremesinghe refused to leave the premier’s official residence.

Parliament has passed two no-confidence motions against Rajapaksa and the speaker has declared that Rajapaksa is no longer prime minister and his government has been dissolved.

But Rajapaksa still functions as prime minister with the backing of Sirisena, who dismissed the no-confidence votes, saying proper procedures were not followed.

Ravi Karunanayake, a lawmaker from Wickremesinghe’s party who presented the motion, said Parliament has control over public finance and the secretary to the prime minster has no authority to approve any expenditures with it.

During the no-confidence motions two weeks ago, rival lawmakers exchanged blows, and Rajapaksa’s supporters threw books, chairs and chilli powder mixed with water to try to block the proceedings.

Amid the disturbance, Jayasuriya resorted to voice votes.

Both Sirisena and Rajapaksa rejected the results of the votes, saying important issues should not be decided by voice.

Sirisena said he will only accept a vote taken by name or through the electronic voting system.

Rajapaksa is considered a hero by some in the ethnic Sinhalese majority for ending a long civil war by crushing ethnic Tamil Tiger rebels.

However, his time in power was marred by allegations of wartime atrocities, graft and nepotism.