Sri Lanka: President Sirisena lifts suspension of parliament, to convene on Nov 5

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has lifted the suspension of parliament and summoned a meeting of the legislature on Monday, November 5, to end the current political stalemate in the country over the sudden sacking of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, officials said on Thursday, November 1.

Sirisena replaced Wickremesinghe with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa in a dramatic turn of events last Friday, October 26. On October 27, Sirisena prorogued parliament till November 16.

Sirisena’ suspension of Parliament, which according to experts was meant to buy time to engineer crossovers from Wickremesinghe's side to Rajapaksa in the 225 member parliament to reach the 113 majority mark.

He was under increasing political and diplomatic pressure to reconvene Parliament and resolve the crisis.

The president has agreed to call a parliamentary session on November 5, officials at Rajapaksa's office said.

The move comes after Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya met Sirisena on Wednesday, October 31, and urged him to convene Parliament to solve the ongoing political crisis which erupted after the President appointed Rajapakse as the Prime Minister following the sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe from the post last week.

Jayasuriya said he had received the signatures of 125 legislators, urging him to convene parliament to vote as to which party had the majority support.

Jayasuriya's office, however, said that seat for the prime minister in the assembly would be reserved for Rajapaksa as the parliamentary officials are bound by the government gazette issued naming as the premier.

Sirisena swore in a new Cabinet under Rajapaksa on Monday, October 29, despite a warning from the parliament speaker of possible violence if lawmakers were not summoned immediately to resolve the crisis.

Wickramasinghe, who has refused to accept his dismissal, argues that he cannot legally be removed until he loses the support of parliament.

He has called for a floor test to prove his majority in parliament.

Rajapaksa has so far managed to rope in five lawmakers from Wickramasinghe's party to bolster his strength to 101. Despite the cross-overs, it was unclear if Rajapaksa has the 113 votes he requires to prove the majority. Prior to the crisis, Wickramasinghe's United National Party (UNP) had the backing of 106 parliamentarians, and Rajapaksa had 95 legislators of the United Peoples' Progressive Alliance (UPFA).

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has 16 seats in the house and the People's Liberation Front (JVP) has six legislators.

On Tuesday, October 30, angry protests rocked Sri Lanka's capital as thousands of demonstrators gathered for a rally organised by deposed prime minister Wickremesinghe's party against what it said was a "coup" by President Sirisena.

(with inputs from agencies)