Ending a 51-day-long political standoff in Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe was reinstated as the country's prime minister on Sunday, 16 December.
Meanwhile, Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday, 18 December, became Sri Lanka's main opposition leader in Parliament, days after he resigned as PM after clinging on to power for nearly two months.
On 14 December, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court had refused to stay another court order restraining Rajapaksa from acting as the prime minister. This came a day after the country's apex court ruled that President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to dissolve the Parliament was illegal.
- Rajapaksa’s appointment as main opposition leader was met with revolt
- Sirisena said he offered to reappoint Wickremesinghe as the prime minister as he respects parliamentary traditions and democracy
- Sirisena plunged the nation into unprecedented political turmoil after sacking Wickremesinghe on 26 October and appointing Rajapaksa in his place, and also dissolving the Parliament
Rajapaksa Now Becomes Sri Lanka's Main Opposition Leader
Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday, 18 December, became Sri Lanka's main opposition leader in Parliament, days after he resigned as PM after clinging on to power for nearly two months.
73-year-old Rajapaksa replaced veteran Tamil leader of the main Tamil party R Sampanthan, who held the position from 2015.
His appointment was announced by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya in Parliament which met for the first time after the reinstatement of Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister that ended the 51-day political standoff in the country.
MA Sumanthiran of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Rauff Hakeem of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress raised objections against Rajapaksa’s appointment.
They claimed that Rajapaksa has ceased to be a member of Parliament because he had joined another political party recently.
Rajapaksa, by obtaining the membership of the Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP), left the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) from which he was elected to Parliament in 2015.
Speaker Jayasuriya asked Sumanthiran to make a written submission on his complaint against Rajapaksa so that a select committee could go into details.
(PTI)
MEA Welcomes Sri Lanka's Efforts to Resolve Political Crisis
The Ministry of External affairs welcomed Sri Lanka’s resolution to the 51–day long political crisis in the country. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that it reflects the maturity of all the political forces and also of the resilience of the Sri Lankan democracy and its institutions.
“India remains committed to taking forward its people-oriented development projects in Sri Lanka. We are confident that India-Sri Lanka relations will continue to move on an upward trajectory.”Raveesh Kumar, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs
Sri Lanka Reinstates Ousted PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn-in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on Sunday, PTI reported, ending a 51-day power tussle in the island nation that had crippled the government.
Wickremesinghe was administered the oath of office by President Maithripala Sirisena at a simple ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
His appointment comes hours after former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena, resigned on Saturday, 15 December, paving way for the return of Wickremesinghe as premier.
President Sirisena had sacked Wickremesinghe on 26 October, in a controversial move that had plunged the island nation into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.
Sirisena agreed to reinstate Minister Wickremesinghe to the post after a discussion between the two on Friday, 14 December.
Mahinda Rajapaksa Resigns as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister
Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister on Saturday, 15 December. This comes after months of political turmoil in the country.
Rani Wickremesinghe will be taking oath as the Prime Minister on Sunday, 16 December.