Rajapaksa sworn in as PM: US asks all parties to abide by Sri Lankan Constitution

Washington, Oct 27: Amid political turmoil in Sri Lanka in which Mahinda Rajapaksa was made the Prime Minister by sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe, the United States has urged all parties to act in accordance with country's constitution.

In a dramatic turn of events, President Maithripala Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party withdrew from the ruling coalition and then sacked Wickremesinghe on Friday evening. Sacked PM Ranil Wickremesinghe dubbed the move as "illegal and unconstitutional".

"We call on all parties to act in accordance with Sri Lanka's constitution, refrain from violence and follow due process," the US State Department said on Twitter.

"We expect the government of Sri Lanka to uphold its Geneva commitments to human rights, reform, accountability, justice and reconciliation," it said.

Sri Lankan Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera tweeted that "the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister is unconstitutional and illegal. This is an anti-democratic coup".

Political analysts said Sirisena's move to install Rajapaksa as the prime minister could lead to a constitutional crisis as the 19th amendment to the Constitution would not allow the sacking of Wickremesinghe as the premier without a majority. Rajapaksa and Sirisena combine has only 95 seats and is short of a simple majority. Wickremesinghe's UNP has 106 seats on its own with just seven short of the majority.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs