Six Sri Lankan ministers quit President Sirisena-led unity government

COLOMBO: Six ministers of President Maithripala Sirisena-led unity government in Sri Lanka resigned today, days after they voted in favour of a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The ministers from the Sirisena-led ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which is a coalition partner in the unity government with the Wickremesinghe-led United National Party (UNP), sent their resignation to the President late last night.

"We have informed the President that we are leaving the government as of Wednesday," Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said.

The other ministers who have resigned include Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara, Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare S B Dissanayake, Labour Minister John Seneviratne, Minister of Science, Technology and Research Susil Premajayantha and Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training Chandima Weerakkody.

Yapa and the five ministers had voted against Wickremesinghe in the last week's no trust motion brought by former President Mahinda Rajapaska-led Joint Opposition (JO), following which the UNP members had been demanding their ouster from the government.

Ten other state and deputy ministers had also voted against the premier.

Yapa said they were aware that it was not ethical for them to remain in the Cabinet after voting against the prime minister.

"We will now act as SLFP members, we will not be joining the JO. Our duty will be to promote the SLFP from now on," he added.

The other SLFP ministers, who had remained absent from the House during the no-confidence motion, will remain in the government, sources said. Meanwhile, President Sirisena today appointed four acting ministers and made them in charge of departments held by the six SLFP ministers.

A major Cabinet reshuffle is expected after next week, a media release from Sirisena's office said.

The SLFP will formally decide next week if it should leave the unity government, the party sources said.

The country had plunged into a political crisis after the unity government's parties lost the local council elections to Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka People's Front in February. Sirisena immediately urged the resignation of Wickremesinghe but he resisted.

Sirisena in 2015 quit the then Rajapaksa government to join hands with Wickremesinghe, the then main opposition leader, to defeat Rajapaksa in the presidential election ending his 10-year rule.