Sirisena suspends House till Nov 16

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday suspended parliament till November 16 after sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe sought an emergency session to prove his majority, deepening the political crisis in the island nation. Sirisena’s move is seen as an effort to allow former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa to buy more time to seek A majority in parliament.

Parliamentary officials said that the president prorogued the house till November 16. Parliament was earlier due to meet on November 5 to unveil the 2019 annual budget. The Rajapaksa-sirisena combine has only 95 seats and is short of a simple majority in the 225-member house. Wickremesinghe’s United National Party has 106 seats on its own, just seven short of the majority.

The UNP claimed that President Sirisena sought to prorogue Parliament as 72-year-old Rajapaksa did not command a majority in the House. Wickremesinghe had earlier in the day, in a letter to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, demanded an emergency session to prove his majority in Parliament. Wickremesinghe has been asserting that the swearing in of Rajapaksa in his place is “illegal and unconstitutional”.

Addressing the media along with his constituent party leaders, the UNP leader said, “This is a created crisis… there is no need for this crisis. The people must not suffer because of this at a difficult time for them.”

He said that the crisis can be resolved with no difficulty if Parliament is convened. I can prove my majority on the floor of the House,” Wickremesinghe said. Sirisena formalised the sacking of his former ally by issuing two extraordinary gazette notices.

The first notice was on Wickremesinghe being removed as prime minister and the other on the appointment of Rajapaska as the new premier. Sirisena also ordered the removal of the Prime Minister’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake. The prime minister’s secretary has been removed according to the powers vested with the president as the appointing authority.

Responding to Sirisena in writing, Wickremesinghe said he is still the “constitutionally appointed Prime Minister” of Sri Lanka.