Reprieve for coalition
President Maithirpala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe - File photo
By Dharisha Bastians-Tuesday, 20 February 2018President Maithripala Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party announced it would remain in the ruling national unity coalition yesterday, ending a week of political uncertainty and abruptly ending its campaign to oust Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, although some members warned the ‘ceasefire’ was temporary.
After lengthy discussions with President Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat last afternoon, the SLFP decided to remain in Government and agitate for major changes in the UNP-led Cabinet of Ministers. The SLFP was persuaded by the President to continue to the status quo, after Speaker Karu Jayasuriya brokered a peace deal between Sirisena and his Prime Minister at Paget Road on Sunday night (18 February), highly placed sources told Daily FT. Despite soliciting the support of the Joint Opposition led by President Sirisena’s political arch enemy Mahinda Rajapaksa, the SLFP had been unable to muster the numbers to dismiss Premier Wickremesinghe constitutionally through a no-faith motion in Parliament, Daily FT learns.
But several SLFP members fired warning shots soon after the decision was announced, indicating that efforts to oust Wickremesinghe would continue.
“The UPFA/SLFP will remain together – there will be no defections. We demanded certain big changes in the Government, but these were not agreed to. We remain firm in our position that these changes must take place and we will explore legal ways of doing so,” SLFP Minister S. B. Dissanayake told reporters outside the Presidential Secretariat following the crucial meeting.
Dissanayake added that the UPFA had a majority in Parliament to topple the Government, but insisted that was a “second priority” with their main aim to strengthen President Sirisena’s position within the shaky coalition.
Deputy Minister and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thilanga Sumathipala, also a UPFA member, who was allegedly involved in mustering enough MPs to form a single party Government led by the SLFP, told Parliament that the party would remain in the coalition until there was clarity on a legal question referred to the Supreme Court by the President, on how the national Government could continue if one major party pulled out of the ruling alliance. Sumathipala first floated the idea that the President had sought the opinion of the Supreme Court on the issue when he simultaneously announced the SLFP was quitting the Unity Government at 11PM on Sunday (18 February), sending shockwaves across the country. “The referral could take a few days, and the SLFP will remain in Government until then in order to ensure stability,” he noted.
However, in Parliament yesterday, Speaker Jayasuriya informed the House in response to a question raised by JO member Dinesh Gunawardena that he had got no official intimation that the UPFA was quitting the Government. Gunawardena quoted Sumathipala and said that if what the Deputy Minister said was true, the Cabinet of Ministers stood defunct.
However, Daily FT learns that Sumathipala had no authorisation from his party leadership to announce the UPFA/SLFP exit from the ruling coalition, since no decision had been reached on the matter till the meeting at the Presidential Secretariat last afternoon.
The crisis in the ruling coalition was precipitated by the stinging defeat of the two major parties at the hands of the fledgling, Rajapaksa-backed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) at the 10 February Local Government elections. SLPP, or the “Pohottuwa”, won 241 out of 341 councils up for grabs in that contest. The SLFP, led by President Sirisena obtained only 13 percent of the vote, while the UNP also suffered a humiliating defeat, by winning only 32% of the vote share and 41 councils island-wide. Following the election results, the SLFP demanded the sacking of Premier Wickremesinghe, who is blamed for the Government’s poor showing at the polls, but hurdle after hurdle has temporarily suspended the campaign.
The UNP, which rallied behind its Prime Minister as the SLFP stepped up calls for his removal, agreed to a major cabinet reshuffle this week as a compromise measure. The Foreign Affairs, Highways, Justice, Law and Order portfolios and several others have been identified for the shuffle.
Opposition Leader slams MR for enflaming ethnic strife
By Skandha GunasekaraEmphasising the need to find a lasting solution to the national problem, the Leader of the Opposition yesterday condemned former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, for inciting racial disharmony during the run-up to the recently concluded Local Government elections.
“During the early stage of their campaign, Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Tamil Eelam was blooming again. If you continue behaving the way you have, Eelam will bloom; it will bloom out of your own lotus bud,” Opposition Leader and leader of the TNA R Sampanthan said.
The Opposition Leader made these remarks while taking part in yesterday’s adjournment debate on the political crisis, which has arisen in the country as a consequence of the outcome of the Local Government elections, adding that “It is abhorrent to play the racial card.”
He then warned that such actions were detrimental to the reconciliation process. “We want a solution in a united, undivided, indivisible and single country. We have made our position clear. It is wrong to instigate communal feelings against a single community while we are demanding a political solution,” Sampanthan said.
He then pointed out that the results of a local authority election had no impact on the constituency of the Parliament.
“The team led by Mahinda Rajapaksa could not poll at least 50 percent in the last three elections including the recently ended local government elections. Parliament is not constituted on the basis of local government polls results. It is wrong to demand power in parliament on the basis of local government results.”
Meanwhile Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayaka pointed out that the SLFP voters had shifted their allegiance away from its long-time base to a new faction, while going on to rebuke the President and the Prime Minister for safeguarding ‘thieves’.
“The Local Government elections results showed the world that SLFP is no longer at Darley Road but at a new camp. The JVP could not reach our target but we achieved some success. The results also tell Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena not to dream of contesting for the President’s seat again. Neither would be able to muster the forces which brought them to power at the 08 January 2015 election. The country needs to end this power struggle,” said Dissanayaka.
He then pointed out that though the Government was to blame for their own defeat at the LG polls and that the results could not be considered a referendum.
“Some try to interpret this election results as a referendum. If anyone does so, then there is no clear-cut victor in this referendum, for none had polled more than 50 percent. The incumbent Government provided safe heaven to fraudsters and thieves. The Government acted in a manner against the mandate it received. The Prime Minister protected one set of thieves while the President protected another set of thieves. The Government failed to punish thieves and murderers. The Government delayed investigations. Therefore the people responded and voted to defeat them.”
