Sri Lanka political turmoil: President Maithripala Sirisena lifts suspension of parliament

Sirisena, had suspended the Parliament until Novemer 16 after the surprise sacking of Wickremsinghe which as per the experts was meant to buy him time to engineer crossovers from Wikcremsinghe’s side to Rajapaksa in the 225 member parliament to reach the 113 majority mark.

Maithripala Sirisena- President of Sri Lanka, (Photo by Don EMMERT / AFP)

New Delhi: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday lifted the suspension of Parliament, as international pressure mounted on him to reconvene the legislature of the country immediately. The island nations president convened a meeting of the legislature on Monday to end the current political stalemate in the country over the sudden sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wikcremsinghe, officials informed on Thursday. Sirisena, had suspended the Parliament until Novemer 16 after the surprise sacking of Wickremsinghe which as per the experts was meant to buy him time to engineer crossovers from Wikcremsinghe’s side to Rajapaksa in the 225 member parliament to reach the 113 majority mark. Sirisena and parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuria discussed the issue yesterday and Sirisena later indicated that he may call the sessions next week. On Monday, he swore in a new Cabinet under Rajapaksa despite a warning from the parliament speaker of possible violence if lawmakers were not summoned immediately to resolve the crisis. US on Wednesday said it was currently focused on the need for Sri Lanka to follow the necessary constitutional process to determine its leadership after the political crisis. It called on the president in consultation with the speaker to reconvene parliament immediately and to allow the democratically elected representatives of the Sri Lankan people to fulfil their responsibility to affirm who will lead their government. Earlier on Sunday also US had called on Sri Lankan president to immediately reconvene the parliament to allow representatives to suppress the violent constitutional crisis. President Maithripala Sirisena had fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday in a sudden move and installed Mahinda Rajapaksa the former President of the country as the new prime minister, triggering political chaos in the Indian Ocean nation. The sudden political turmoil had triggered violent clashes between supporters of the two leaders. One man was killed and two people were injured when bodyguards for Petroleum Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, a Wickremesinghe loyalist, fired live rounds as a mob allied to the president threatened the cabinet member. Wickremesinghe has refused to vacate the prime minister's official residence since being controversially deposed, declaring his dismissal illegal and demanding an emergency session of parliament to prove he still commands a majority. (With inputs from agencies)