SL eyes cabinet reshuffle, oppn seen included

Colombo, Jan 9: Sri Lanka's President may reshuffle his cabinet, his office said today, and an aide said he could bring in opposition politicians into his minority government.

President Mahinda Rajapakse's government is dwarfed by the opposition in parliament after key allies broke away from his coalition, forcing him to reach out to the main opposition United National Party and minority Tamil and Muslim parties.

''I would expect to see people from the opposition coming in to the cabinet,'' a senior presidential aide told sources on condition of anonymity.

Analysts say such a reshuffle would help bring balance to a parliament in which the government has around just 70 of the 225 seats at a time when the state is fighting a new chapter of a two decade civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels.

REUTERS

Related Stories

SL says rebels blow up electricity transformer
In-focus: Sri Lanka Crisis