Sri Lanka: Sirisena vows not to appoint Wickremesinghe as PM again

President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday asserted that he will not appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister again.

According to The Colombo Page, Sirisena said that he has even apprised his party, the United National Party (UNP) about this decision.

"I will not appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister in my lifetime. I have told them very clearly not to bring Ranil Wickremesinghe to me even if it's proven legally that the UNF has the majority," The Colombo Page quoted President Sirisena as saying.

President Maithripala Sirisena made this statement at a meeting with foreign journalists this morning at the President's official residence.

The Colombo Page further quoted Sirisena, who stressed on the fact that the removal of Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister, followed by the appointment of a new Prime Minister, the dissolution of the cabinet and the Parliament were done legally.

The Sri Lankan President also stated that the Central Bank bond scam which was exposed three months after Wickremesinghe's appointment derailed Sirisena's plans of providing clean and good governance.

Srisena added that owing to rampant corruption and Wickremesinghe's stubborn attitude, he had to remove him from the ministerial post and replace him with Mahinda Rajapaksa for the good of the country.

"He was very stubborn and was not accommodative. He even exercised my powers. He not only exercised Prime Ministerial powers. He also began using the powers of the President," the President added to his statement.

According to The Colombo Page, Sirisena also hinted towards constituting a commission that would probe the corruption and fraud which took place during Wickremesinghe's tenure.