People shout slogans against Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and demand that Rajapaksa family politicians step down, during a protest amid the country's economic crisis, at Independence Square in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 4, 2022. (Reuters)Sri Lanka Crisis Live News Updates: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition lost its majority in Parliament as proceedings began Tuesday for the first time since the state of Emergency was imposed. At least 41 lawmakers walked out of the alliance amid public anger against the Rajapaksa family, news agency Reuters reported. Earlier, President Rajapaksa had asserted that he won’t resign from his position, however, he’s ready to hand over the government to whoever proves the majority in Parliament. While a vote count is yet to be taken, with the ruling coalition in minority, passing government proposals may become tough unless independent members support them.
Tendering his resignation a day after being sworn in Finance Minister Ali Sabry, who replaced the President’s brother, Basil Rajapaksa, said, “fresh, proactive and unconventional steps” are needed to navigate this unprecedented crisis. Sabry added that when he resigned as Minister of Justice on April 3, it was not his intention to take up another post.
Meanwhile, around 2,000 protesters Monday reached the residence of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Tangalle, demanding his resignation. The protesters reportedly broke through police barricades, prompting the security forces to use tear gas to disperse the crowd. Protests continued across the country, including at the Independence Square in Colombo and outside the residences of at least six lawmakers.
People shout slogans against Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and demand that Rajapaksa family politicians step down, during a protest amid the country's economic crisis, on a main road in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 4, 2022. (Reuters)
Sri Lanka has decided to temporarily close its embassies in Oslo (Norway) and Baghdad (Iraq) and its Consulate General in Sydney, Australia with effect from April 30. According to a government statement, the decision was taken following 'careful deliberation.' The government stated that it is 'part of a general restructuring of Sri Lanka's diplomatic representationa overseas, undertaken by the Foreign Ministry in the context of the current economic situation and foreign currency constraints faced by the country.'
Sri Lankan shares broke their six-day losing streak on Tuesday, as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament amid growing unrest over the country's worst economic crisis in decades. At the close of trade, the CSE All-Share index settled 5.99% higher at 8,738.08 points.
The Rajapaksa government was left in a minority in parliament on Tuesday, after at least 41 Sri Lankan lawmakers walked out of the ruling coalition.
The debt-laden country currently faces shortages of food, fuel and medicines and prolonged power cuts as it struggles to pay for imports of fuel and other goods due to a scarcity of foreign exchange. The equity market turnover was 1.14 billion rupees ($3.86 million) on Tuesday, compared with 1.97 billion rupees in the previous session. (Reuters)
The ruling coalition, which had won 150 seats in the 2020 general elections and went on to increase its numbers through defections from the Opposition, on Tuesday appeared to lose the support of at least 41 MPs. These included members of former president Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and others from the 11 coalition partners.
It now appears to have 109 seats, five less than the 113 seats required for a simple majority in the 225-member Parliament.
The government, however, claimed that it commands the simple majority. (PTI)
Names of the 41 lawmakers to leave the coalition were announced Tuesday by party leaders in Parliament. They have now become independent members, leaving Rajapaksa's government with fewer than the 113 members needed to maintain a majority in the 225-member house.
There has been no vote count yet, although Rajapaksa's minority government could find decision-making more challenging. Independent parliamentarians, however, could continue to support government proposals in the house.
"There are endless shortages of essentials including fuel and cooking gas. Hospitals are on the verge of closing because there are no medicines," Maithripala Sirisena, leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party that withdrew its support for Rajapaksa's coalition, told Parliament. "At such a time our party is on the side of the people."
Sirisena, together with other lawmakers, called on President Rajapaksa and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, to present a clear plan to find a resolution for Sri Lanka's financial mess.
But Opposition parties - reflecting the mood of a wave of protests sweeping the country of 22 million people - urged the president and prime minister to step down. (Reuters)
Protests continued across the country Monday night, including at the Independence Square in Colombo and outside the office of President Rajapaksa amid the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka.
The newly-appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry, who had replaced the President's brother, Basil Rajapaksa, tendered his resignation stating that after much deliberation, “I am now of the view, for your Excellency to make suitable interim arrangement to navigate this unprecedented crisis, fresh and proactive and unconventional steps need to be taken, including the appointment of a new Finance Minister."
He added that when he resigned as Minister of Justice on April 3, it was not his intention to take up another post.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament on Tuesday after at least 41 lawmakers walked out of the alliance amid growing unrest over an economic crisis, according to parliamentary proceedings.
"Our party is on the side of the people," said Maithripala Sirisena, leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party which withdrew its support for Rajapaksa's coalition.
The shift left Rajapaksa with a minority government, which could make decision making more challenging, although independent lawmakers can still continue to support government proposals. (Reuters)
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday asserted that he won’t resign from his position while speaking to senior party members. He, however, said that he's ready to hand over the government to whoever proves the majority of 113 seats in Parliament, news agency ANI reported.
"Sri Lanka's condition is very worrisome. India is on that path. We have to handle it otherwise our condition will be worse than Sri Lanka. Mamata Banerjee has also said to call for an all-party meeting under PM Modi's leadership," Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was quoted as saying by ANI.
The 225-member Parliament will convene on Tuesday in its first session since a state of emergency was declared by President Rajapaksa last week.
The dissidents, led by former president Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), would leave the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition with its 14 Members of Parliament, party sources said after their meeting with the President on Monday.
The coalition, which commanded 157 votes out of 225 at the last vote held on the government budget, is bound to lose between 50-60 members, Udaya Gammanpila, a dissident lawmaker told reporters on Monday.
As a result, the government would not only be denied its two-thirds but even the simple majority of 113 members, he said.
The dissidents said that in addition to 14 members of Sirisena, 16 more from the other 11 members of the coalition would defect to be an independent group. They expect at least 20 from the SLPP to join their ranks.
However, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, a SLPP lawmaker, said that the government was rock solid with 138 members backing it. (PTI)
The Sri Lankan Parliament is expected to meet Tuesday after the Opposition rejected the President’s proposal to form a unity government.
"You could see the composition of parliament changing today," lawyer Luwie Niranjan Ganeshanathan, who specialises in constitutional issues, told news agency Reuters.
Sri Lanka's ruling coalition won 145 out of 225 seats in the last parliamentary election. However, some of its 11 coalition partners that collectively hold 30 seats have indicated they will sit independently in Parliament.
If the ruling coalition loses its majority, the Opposition can table a resolution to dissolve the Parliament and call for elections, Reuters reported. If a no-confidence motion is brought in, the President can appoint a new Prime Minister.
Around 2,000 protesters reached the residence of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Tangalle, demanding his resignation. The protesters reportedly broke through police barricades, prompting the security forces to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday that it is monitoring political and economic developments in Sri Lanka "very closely" as public unrest in the island nation grows amid its worst economic crisis in decades.
"IMF staff is looking forward to program discussions with the authorities, including during the visit of the newly appointed Finance Minister to Washington later this month," IMF Sri Lanka mission chief Masahiro Nozaki told Reuters in an emailed statement.
Following President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's proposal for all parties to come together and take up ministerial portfolios to find solutions to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the largest Opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya has rejected the move.
"The people of this country want Gotabaya and the entire Rajapaksa family to go and we can’t go against the people’s will and we can’t work alongside the corrupt," top party official Ranjth Madduma Banadara told news agency AP.
Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared an Emergency on April 1 as thousands of people came out on the streets to protest the crippling power cuts and shortages of essential commodities caused by the country’s economic meltdown. This is the second time within a year that Rajapaksa has resorted to this measure.
Before Rajapaksa, President Maithripala Sirisena had declared an Emergency in March 2018 to contain anti-Muslim violence in some parts of the country that led to the deaths of two people, acts of arson, and damage to property. And before that, Sri Lanka was under a near continuous state of Emergency for 27 years -- from the anti-Tamil riots of July 1983 to August 2011.
Nirupama Subramanian looks at the long history of Emergencies in Sri Lanka, the process and the scope of the restrictions. Read here
Protesters across the country demanded the resignation of the Rajapaksa family members from the government. Around 2,000 gathered in front of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's private residence in Tangalle. Others demonstrated at the Independence Square in Colombo and outside the homes of other lawmakers as the country grapples with its worst economic crisis.
They sweated it out together in Sri Lankan colours on the 22 yards and the iconic duo of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara again joined forces to launch a scathing attack on the country's political establishment as it battles one of its worst financial crisis.
A slew of poor financial decisions led to the disastrous situation and Jayawardene and Sangakkara, in their social media statements, didn't mince words while criticising the government.
"Sri Lankans are going through one of the toughest times imaginable. It is heartbreaking to see the despair of people and families as they struggle to make it through the day; and each day for them gets harder. The people are raising their voices and asking for what is needed: a solution," the eloquent Sangakkara, who is currently with IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals as their mentor, wrote on his Instagram page.
With people on the streets and police using force to disperse the protesting public, Jaywardene wants the leaders to own up their mistakes. "I'm sad to see emergency law and curfew in Sri Lanka. The government cannot ignore the needs of the people who have every right to protest. Detaining people who do is not acceptable and I am very proud of the brave Sri Lankan lawyers who rushed to their defence," Jayawardene wrote.
"True leaders own up to mistakes. There is massive urgency here to protect the people of our country, united in their suffering. These problems are man-made and can be fixed by the right, qualified people." In no uncertain terms, the stylish batter of yesteryears said that Rajapaksa and Co need to step down. (PTI)
Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) governor offered to quit on Monday, while the CBSL delayed its monetary policy announcement scheduled for Tuesday.
Former CBSL official P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said that he had accepted an offer from Rajapaksa to become the central bank's next governor. "The president called me and made the offer, and I have accepted," Weerasinghe told Reuters.