Sri Lanka votes out government of former strongman president

SRI LANKA’S parliament yesterday voted out the bitterly disputed government of former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, removing one controversial figure but leaving the country in a power vacuum.

The island nation has been in crisis since its president sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe, the prime minister, on Oct 26 and replaced him with Mr Rajapaksa, who served as president until being voted out three years ago.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court overruled the president’s dissolution of parliament and halted preparations for a snap election, in a major boost for the ousted prime minister.

In dramatic scenes yesterday, legislators gave their verdict on the two rivals – with a majority in the 225-member assembly supporting a no-confidence motion against Mr Rajapaksa.

Parliament also passed motions declaring illegal the Nov 9 proclamations made by Maithripala Sirisena, the president, to enshrine the power shift.

However, the result does not automatically mean that Mr Wickremesinghe, who has refused to leave the prime minister’s residence, has won the constitutional showdown.

‘The ayes have it. I rule that this House does not have confidence in [Mr Rajapaksa’s] government’

Day-to-day administration remains paralysed as the crisis drags on and there are fears for the economy and Sri Lanka’s ability to repay its huge foreign debts.

Though Mr Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) is the biggest in parliament, Mr Sirisena retains the power to choose the prime minister. The UNP leader, who left his bunker at the Temple Trees official residence for the first time in nearly three weeks to go to parliament, still hailed the vote.

“This is a victory for the people,” he told reporters, condemning the president’s actions as “illegal”.

He said officials should no longer take orders from the Rajapaksa-led “purported government”.

The UNP said that Mr Sirisena must now call on Mr Wickremesinghe to form a new government.

In a chaotic session, 72-year-old Mr Rajapaksa and his legislator son Namal walked out of the red-carpeted chamber just before the speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, called for a vote.

Politicians loyal to Mr Rajapaksa attempted to grab the mace, the assembly’s symbol of authority, to disrupt the vote, but the speaker continued. “The ayes have it. I rule that this House does not have confidence in [Mr Rajapaksa’s] government.”

Several of Mr Rajapaksa’s ministers accused the speaker of violating parliamentary norms by holding the vote.