Ranil Wickremasinghe refuses to step down, says Rajapaksa appointment ‘unconstitutional’

Colombo, Oct 27: Sri Lanka faced a sudden crisis as President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday, October 26, removed Ranil Wickremsinghe as the prime minister and appointed his former cabinet colleague Mahinda Rajapaksa, his immediate predecessor, as the new premier of the island-nation.

According to experts on Sri Lankan constitution, the latest move by Sirisena could trigger a constitutional crisis since the 19th Amendment of the law of the land doesn't give the president the powers to remove the prime minister but only those to appoint.

According to Colombo Telegraph, a viewpoint is doing the rounds in Sri Lanka that Sirisena appointed Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka's new prime minister without legally removing Wickremasinghe.

"According to the 19th Amendment to the constitution, a Prime Minister cannot be removed in the Nineteenth Amendment, unless a) he resigns from office, or b) ceases to be a Member of Parliament. The dissolution of Parliament can also result in the resignation of the incumbent Prime Minister," the Colombo Telegraph said in a report.

Wickremasinghe was aware of it and in a strong statement made after the development, he said he was still the prime minister of Sri Lanka and termed Rajapaksa's appointment as "unconstitutional".

He also said that would not step down from his post. The 69-year-old United National Party leader made his stand known after consulting senior parliamentarians

Mangala Samaraweera, the country's finance and media minister, also criticised the move saying it was "unconstitutional". He also said it was an "anti-democratic coup".