ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s parliament speaker Karu Jayasuriya said 122 lawmakers in the 225-seat assembly had signed a letter saying they opposed the appointment of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister.
A statement said the letter would be sent by Jayasuriya to President Maithripala Sirisena who on October 26 appointed Rajapakse as prime minister in place of Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesinghe has contested the controversial move, as well as Sirisena’s decision to dissolve parliament, which triggered a constitutional crisis, and demanded parliament be reconvened to prove he commanded a majority in the assembly.
Jayasuriya’s statement said 122 members of parliament had signed the letter saying Sirisena’s appointment of Rajapaksa as prime minister and later a new Cabinet of ministers were unconstitutional.
(COLOMBO, 14 November 2018)