 "Mahinda Rajapaksa")
Sri Lanka’s president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has agreed to replace his older brother as prime minister in a proposed interim government to solve a political impasse caused by the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, a prominent lawmaker said Friday. But a spokesperson for PM Mahinda Rajapaksa maintained the president has not communicated any such move.
The president has asked the dissident group of his ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition to start a dialogue with Opposition parties on their proposal to form an interim government.
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A delegation from former president Maithripala Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) met Gotabaya in the morning to press for their demand on the formation of the interim government. After the meeting, Sirisena claimed the president agreed that a national council will be appointed to name a new prime minister and Cabinet comprised of all parties in Parliament.
Sirisena, who was president before Rajapaksa, was a governing party lawmaker before defecting earlier this month along with nearly 40 other legislators.
However, Rohan Weliwita, a spokesperson for the prime minister said the president has not communicated any intent to remove the prime minister and a decision will be announced if such a step is taken.
Presidential officials said that the parties have agreed to form a five-member committee who would be talking to the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and other Opposition parties.
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The president told them to show their majority by garnering the support of 113 lawmakers in the 225-member Parliament to form the interim government. The dissidents demanded Mahinda’s resignation to make way for an interim government.
Gotabaya earlier reshuffled his Cabinet and offered a unity government in an attempt to quell the protests, but Opposition parties refused to join a government headed by the Rajapaksa brothers.
Both the president and prime minister have held on to their positions, while three other Rajapaksa family members resigned from the Cabinet earlier in April in what appeared an attempt to pacify angry protesters. The weak, divided Opposition has been unable to form a majority and take control of Parliament on its own.
90% Lankans want Rajapaksa family leave politics: Poll
At least nine of ten Sri Lankans have opined that Mahinda should resign as PM, and that the embattled Rajapaksa family should leave politics, according to a poll, conducted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives and held amid the worst economic crisis that has hit the country. As many as 89.6 per cent Sri Lankans believe the entire Rajapaksa family should leave Sri Lankan politics, with 87.3 per cent supporting the demand that the president should also resign.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
