Won’t recognise Rajapaksa as PM till he wins floor test: Sri Lanka Speaker

Sri Lanka: Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on Monday slammed President Maithripala Sirisena, saying it was “anti-democratic” to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and suspend Parliament, and that he would not recognise Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister unless it was proved by a floor test.

The tough statement from Mr. Jayasuriya came after Mr. Sirisena announced on Sunday that Parliament would reconvene on November 14, a week later than he had promised.

In the statement released on Monday in Sinhala, Mr. Jayasuriya said a majority of members in Parliament have submitted a petition to him stating that the changes made in Parliament recently by President Sirisena were unconstitutional.

“In the name of justice and fair play, I have to declare my position to the world that when a majority has pointed out that rights of the MPs have been usurped by preventing the lawful convening of Parliament,” Mr. Jayasuriya said.

“A majority in Parliament has requested that all changes made have been anti-constitutional and against the traditions. They have urged me to recognise the status quo which prevailed prior to these changes. As such I have to recognize the status quo which prevailed before until the new party would be able to prove their majority,” Mr. Jayasuriya said.

As a result, Mr. Rajapaksa will not be given the Prime Minister seat in Parliament as the current government members will need to sit in the Opposition seats.

Mr. Sirisena had suspended parliamentary proceedings until November 16 after abruptly firing Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and replacing him with Mr. Rajapaksa, a controversial former President, on October 26.

The Speaker had expected Parliament to reconvene on November 7. However, Mr. Sirisena on Sunday issued notice to reconvene Parliament on November 14.

Civil society organisations have demanded that Mr. Jayasuriya re-summon Parliament on his own. Mr. Jayasuriya, however, refused to do so saying he was powerless unless the President consented. Wickremesinghe party seeks no-trust motion against Rajapaksa

The decision announced last night by President Maithripala Sirisena to summon Parliament won’t lead to resolving the constitutional crisis, Mr. Wickremsinghe’s United National Party (UNP) senior leader Vajira Abeywardena said on Monday.

“We can’t treat November 14 as the date on which we can settle this issue. The law has been violated. They have delayed the date for reconvening Parliament so that they could buy over MPs. The public must protest the way the MPs are being brought for money,” Mr. Abeywardena said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe’s suporters alleged that large sums of money had been offered to change sides. Mr. Rajapaksa’s parliamentary strength has now been bolstered to 105 from 96.

The UNP has lost eight of its legislators while one member from the main Tamil party TNA has defected. Mr. Rajapaksa needs 113 to prove his majority in the 225-member House.

Mr. Wickremesinghe who branded Mr. Sirisena’s October 26 action to sack him a constitutional coup maintains that he holds majority. The UNP has handed over a motion of no trust against Mr. Rajapaksa.