Sri Lankan PM Rajapaksa May Resign Amid Fears Of Govt Shutdown

Amid fears of government shutdown, Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is likely to resign from his post, according to a tweet by his son Namal Rajapaksa on Friday (14). The new move of Rajapaksa is expected to compel president Maithripala Sirisena to appoint a new prime minister to stop a possible government shutdown on January 1.

“To ensure stability of the nation, Former President @PresRajapaksa has decided to resign from the Premiership tomorrow after an address to the nation. The SLPP with Frm President, SLFP & others will now work to form a broader political coalition with President Sirisena,” said Namal Rajapaksa, member of parliament and son of Rajapaksa in a tweet.

The island nation has been under a political turmoil for more than a month after Sirisena removed former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from his post to appoint Rajapaksa as new prime minister of the country.

The appointment of Rajapaksa as the prime minister was opposed by majority of MPs as the appointment is against Sri Lanka’s constitution. Rajapaksa who was then sacked by the parliament twice but was reluctant to resign.

Sirisena rejected the parliamentary votes, saying that due procedure wasn’t followed.

Still it is not clear how Sri Lanka plans to end the political impasse that threatens to shutdown the government on January 1 as temporary budget should be approved by the parliament before the new year.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s top court on Friday (14) dismissed Rajapaksa’s attempt for an injunction on a local court order which stopped him and his cabinet from performing their roles in the government.

Earlier this week, Sri Lankan parliament passed a vote of confidence in favour of ousted Wickremesinghe, as it sought his reinstatement as prime minister by the president to end the political turmoil.

However, Sri Lankan president repeatedly said that he won’t appoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister.