What next after SC ruling? Sirisena weighs options

With the Supreme Court ruling on the dissolution of Parliament due likely next week, President Maithripala Sirisena is weighing his options on what next.

If the court rules that the dissolution is constitutional, Mr Sirisena told the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee (CC) on Friday night that he would seek an electoral alliance with the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP). If the ruling was otherwise, he said, he would consult the CC on the steps to be taken.

President Sirisena, who is the leader of the SLFP, shocked participants when he declared that all SLFP electoral organisers would cease to function from Friday. He would personally pick new organisers with the help of a committee, giving priority to those who have performed well. The move, SLFP sources said, was to enhance his bargaining position in the event an alliance was formed.

Although the SC ruling would end the controversy over whether the dissolution of Parliament was constitutional, other issues that caused the political impasse, now into its seventh week, are bound to linger.

Main among them is the issue of a new Prime Minister. On Monday night, President Sirisena told a United National Front (UNF) delegation that he would appoint neither Ranil Wickremesinghe nor any member of “his clique” as Prime Minister. However, he did not identify who were in the “clique.”

President Sirisena shocked participants when he declared that all SLFP electoral organisers would cease to function from Friday