Big boost for Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka parliament votes against Rajapaksa govt
Colombo, Nov 14: Sri Lanka parliament on Wednesday voted against the controversially appointed government of Mahinda Rajapaksa Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court overturned a presidential decree dissolving the legislature.
The vote came after the parliament met under tight security, after the top court ruled its dissolution illegal and opened the door to a vote on which of two rival prime ministers has the support to rule.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya ruled that a majority of the 225-member assembly supported a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa who was appointed prime minister on October 26 in place of Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The news comes as a major boost to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was sacked by President Maithripala Sirisena on October 26.
Lanka crisis: Rajapaksa ends 50-year association with Sirisena's party, joins newly-formed SLPP
Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed President Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve parliament until next month in a further twist in the country's political crisis.
Sri Lanka was thrown into chaos when President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament on November 9. He called for a general election in January 2019 in an unprecedented move that will likely plunge the country deeper into a constitutional crisis.
Parliament's dissolution, anticipated and mocked by many, was announced in an official gazette notification signed by Sirisena.
After dissolving the parliament, president Sirsena, on 9 November, announced snap elections in Sri Lanka and the new parliament to be convened on 17 January.
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President Sirisena suspended parliament immediately after his October 26 decision to sack Wickremesinghe, a move that was being seen as to allow Mahinda Rajapaksa to muster the 113 seats required for majority.
Rajapaksa has so far won 9 defections, still short of 113 to prove his majority in the 225-member House.