Mahinda Rajapaksa sets two records as Sri Lanka president sacks parliament

By Athula Vithanage


Failing to muster majority support for his choice premier, the Sri Lankan president has sacked parliament.

With the shocking move, Mahinda Rajapaksa sets two national records as first ever 'prime minister' who didn't attend any house sessions as well as the 'premier' who was in the post for the shortest time.

Wijayananda Dahanayake appointed as PM in September 1959 left the office in March 1960.

However, Rajapaksa's appointment has been challenged widely as unconstitutional and illegal.

Fresh elections have been announced for 5 January 2019.

The new parliament will meet on January 17, 2019 said an extraordinary gazette notification issued by the president.

President Maithripala Sirisena's apparently unconstitutional strike came after a party spokesman admitted that they are short of the 113 MPs needed to endorse the appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“We have 104 or 105 MPs, but we will prove our majority at a floor test,” Rajapaksa - Sirisena party spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told journalists.

However, President Sirisena dissolved parliament before it could reconvene on 14 November as announced by him earlier

Hours before his move, the president took the police force under his control.

The country was thrown into a political crisis after the president suspended parliament and appointed party strongman Rajapaksa as PM on October 26, in a move widely condemned as unconstitutional.

Since then Ranil Wickramasinghe was refusing to vacate the PM post.

His party has announced that it will appeal to the supreme court against the presidents action.☐

© JDS