Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
Related Articles
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya declares it doesn’t have majority
In a watershed floor test in the Sri Lankan Parliament, a majority of lawmakers on Wednesday voted for a no-confidence motion against disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. “I hereby declare that the appointed government has no majority in this House,” Speaker Karu Jayasuriya told Parliament shortly after it reconvened. The Parliament had been shut for nearly three weeks since President Maithripala Sirisena prorogued and subsequently dissolved it, in the wake of an unprecedented political struggle in the country. The vote was taken up after Leader of the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake moved a motion against the purported PM Rajapaksa and his Cabinet terming their appointment “unconstitutional.” On October 26, Mr. Sirisena abruptly sacked his PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and installed former President Mr. Rajapaksa in his place, sparking widespread criticism. After Mr. Rajapaksa’s MPs refused to vote by name in the floor test held on Wednesday, the Speaker called for a vote by voice, and declared that the ayes had it.
Setback to Sirisena
The development — coming a day after the Supreme Court stayed the sacking of Parliament — signalled a major political setback for executive President Sirisena, with both the judiciary and legislature challenging his recent actions. Following the vote, the Speaker said he would send a copy of the motion, signed by 122 MPs, to the President for further action. There has been no official response from the President’s office so far. He has convened a meeting with the Speaker, and leaders of parties that voted against Mr. Rajapaksa on Thursday morning at the Presidential Secretariat, a top political source told The Hindu . On Wednesday morning, the approach road to the Parliament building was busy hours before the House reconvened. Several SUVs zoomed past amid the heavy police presence. Inside the chamber, the tension was palpable. President Sirisena was not present. Mr. Rajapaksa was seated in the Prime Minister’s chair in the front row.
