Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to dissolve the parliament on November 9 as a solution to a bourgeoning political crisis seems to be having the reverse effect. At least three political parties are now determined to challenge the dissolution in court in the coming week while Sirisena’s own party members have begun defecting to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a new political party headed by former minister and Rajapaksa loyalist, Professor G.L. Peiris.
Leading the way, parliamentarian and Rajapaksa’s son Namal Rajapaksa obtained SLPP membership on November 10. “We will strive to create a broader coalition with many stakeholders under the leadership of Maithripala Sirisena & Mahinda Rajapaksa to face the upcoming general election and come out victorious,” Namal Rajapaksa said in Twitter post.
Namal Rajapaksa.
Immediately, there were at least two other responses from young SLFP members, Kanchana Wijesekera and Shehan Semasinghe, indicating their decision to join the SLPP, a trend that is expected to grow during the period of nominations.
Meanwhile, the news website economynext.com and several others claimed that Mahinda Rajapaksa too has renounced his SLFP membership in favour of the SLPP. Sirisena’s prime ministerial appointee is now garnering support from all parties to cobble a broad coalition to face the forthcoming general election while his very appointment is expected to be challenged in court this week.
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Until now, Rajapaksa, a former SLFP leader and then patron, has not severed his official link with the currently Sirisena-led SLFP.
SLPP emerged the strongest political party in the local elections held in February, pushing Wickremsinghe’s UNP to the second and the Sirisena-led SLFP to the third place.
However, observers claim that the new move by Rajapaksa loyalists is not only calculated to secure electoral victory but is also aimed at further reducing the SLFP’s footprint in Sri Lankan electoral politics. Besides, it will also weaken Sirisena’s bargaining power in the remaining months as President, dwindling his opportunity to run for presidency as a common candidate in an SLFP-SLPP electoral alliance.
But all is not well within the Rajapaksa camp. While his appointment has been a source of joy to sections of the populace, international community has responded either negatively or passively to the October 26 appointment.
Only the Chinese and the Pakistani envoys paid courtesy calls on the former president after being appointed Prime Minister.
The United Nations, the European Union and the United States have expressed serious concern over the turn of events in Sri Lanka and have called for adherence to democratic norms and respect for constitutional rule.
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Sources confirmed that the Sri Lankan foreign ministry has not received a single congratulatory message from any country over the appointment of Rajapaksa to date, an indication that the world is not eager to endorse Sirisena’s style of replacing a serving prime minister.
Meanwhile, three political parties intend to challenge the dissolution of parliament as a violation of the constitution.
Leading the campaign is the UNP’s frontliner and former finance and media minister Mangala Samaraweera, who claimed the dissolution was an undemocratic act “to suit political ambitions of a few.”
The United National Party, the northern-based Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will challenge the dissolution, what Samaraweera termed as “tyranny” and “hitting the constitution in its teeth.”
The basis for challenging, Samaraweera said, lies in the 19th Amendment to the constitution, signed off by President Sirisena himself in the afterglow of presidential victory in 2015, which stipulates that a dissolution can take place upon completing four-and-a-half years. The November 9 dissolution comes one-and-a-half years ahead of schedule.
Samaraweera insists that since the House was dissolved while one party had a working majority, the dissolution is mala fide and undemocratic. “The election was announced to deny the party with a working majority to continue in government,” he said.
Speaking to The Wire, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kuamar Dissanayake said the announcement of a snap poll is unacceptable primarily because it violates the 19th Amendment to the constitution and second, if the desired result is not achieved, there is the threat of the president taking further undemocratic steps, causing extensive political instability.
“This is a reaction poll, not a democratic call for elections,” said Dissanayake.
The dissolution seems to have deepened the political crisis that was triggered by Sirisena’a replacing of Ranil Wickremesinghe with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, rather than abate it.
Sri Lanka’s ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arrives at a news conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka October 27, 2018. Credit: Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte
The ousted Wickremesinghe continues to occupy Temple Trees, the prime minister’s official residence, while the caretaker prime minister of Sirisena’s choice, Rajapaksa, operates from the prime minister’s office in Colombo.
When called by the UNP and speaker Karu Jayasuriya to face the floor test allowing Wickremesinghe or Rajapaksa to effectively demonstrate their majority, Sirisena announced a snap general election when it became clear that his side could not garner the 113 members needed.
However, even as the Gazette extraordinaire 2096/70 of November 9, 2018 was being dispatched for printing at the government’s printer, an undeterred Sirisena swore in three more Cabinet ministers.
Dilrukshi Handunnetti is a Colombo-based journalist and lawyer.