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Following the vote, the Speaker said he was sending a copy of the motion, signed by 122 MPs, to the President for further action. Responding to the Speaker, the President has reportedly said in a letter that Mr. Jayasuriya ignored parliamentary procedures and standing orders, and failed to get the signatures’ list certified by a notary. Mr. Sirisena has also 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 . Earlier in the House, the tension was palpable. The Speaker suspended standing orders on the day’s agenda, after a majority backed TNA legislator M.A. Sumanthiran’s motion for it. Just as the House prepared to take up the no-confidence vote, Mr. Rajapaksa rose and left the Chamber, escorted by his son and young MP Namal Rajapaksa. MPs backing Mr. Rajapaksa meanwhile roared in protest and claimed the proceedings breached Parliamentary tradition, drowning the Speaker’s voice as he said the House was convening in an “extraordinary” situation. After Mr. Jayasuriya declared that the majority had voted out Mr. Rajapaksa, the MPs pointed to the Speaker, and chanted “pissek, pissek” (a mad person) in chorus. The House was soon adjourned until Thursday morning. The outcome of the floor test evoked opposite reactions from the rival camps. MP Namal Rajapaksa accused Mr. Jayasuriya — formerly with Mr. Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) — of being “biased.”
