A day after withdrawing his support from government, President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday prorogued parliament until November 16.
He made the announcement even as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a special media briefing, sought the Speaker’s permission to convene Parliament, where he said he had a majority. “This is a matter that should be resolved in the Parliament,” he said, flanked by Muslim and Malayaha Tamil leaders, and Cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne among others.
The developments come in the wake of President Sirisena’s sudden decision on Friday, to pull his faction out from government. Immediately after, he sacked PM Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Ahead of the drastic move, the Wickremesinghe-led United National Front had 106 seats in parliament, while the Sirisena-Rajapaksa combine had a little less than a 100. On Saturday, both sides claimed they had the required number to prove majority in the 225-member parliament. However, before a possible floor test, Mr. Sirisena prorogued parliament.