Sri Lankan president orders parliament to reconvene November 14

Colombo, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena has ordered parliament to reconvene in 10 days, drawing sharp criticism from the party of the country’s sacked prime minister which decried it as “too late”.

The announcement on Sunday came amid mounting pressure to let legislators hold a vote in order to resolve a protracted political crisis over two rival prime ministers.

Sirisena had suspended parliamentary proceedings until November 16 after abruptly firing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last week and replacing him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, a controversial former president.

The parliament will now meet on November 14 at 10am local time (04:30 GMT), according to an official gazette notification.

Mangala Samaraweera, a member of Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), condemned Sirisena’s decision to recall parliament two days prior to the earlier notice, saying it was “an eyewash to appease the ever increasing” international and local pressure.

The UNP has called Wickremesinghe’s sacking on October 26 “unconstitutional” and demanded an immediate vote to prove he commanded a majority in the parliament.

However, in recent days a steady stream of defections has eroded the UNP’s narrow majority in the 225-member House. At least eight legislators allied to the party have crossed over to the Sirisena and Rajapaksa-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), and nearly all have taken up ministerial posts in the new cabinet.

On Friday, the UNP submitted a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa after the UPFA said it would not hold a vote to test Rajapaksa’s support even when the legislature reconvened.

The UNP said the petition has the backing of 118 legislators – five more than the majority of 113 required to vote out a prime minister.

Gayantha Karunatilleke, a UNP member, said the date for parliament recall was “too late”.

“What’s the point convening parliament two days before November 16? We want the president to reconvene parliament immediately,” he said, urging Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to defy the president and summon parliament “in the next few days”.