The speaker of Sri Lanka parliament has said he would not accept former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister until he proves his majority in parliament.
Sitting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was fired from his position by President Maithripala Sirisena on October 26. Rajapaksa was then appointed as the prime minister, an action which drew criticism from political parties and international community.
"The majority of the members are of the view that the changes done in the parliament are unconstitutional and against the traditions," the speaker of parliament, Karu Jayasuriya, said in a statement. "Therefore, I am requested by the majority of the parliament to accept the position which was prior to these changes. Until the new group shows the majority, I will have to accept the status quo prior to the changes."
Meanwhile, Sirisena on Sunday announced the reconvening of Parliament on November 14. According to a gazette notification, issued by his Secretary Udaya R Seneviratne on Sunday evening, the assembly would be recalled on November 14.
The sacking of Wickremesinghe was a sudden development that came amid growing tensions between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe on several policy matters and the president has been critical of the prime minister and his policies, especially on economy and security.
Wickremesinghe had termed the president's move as "unconstitutional and illegal" and refused to leave the official residence, claiming he was still the legally appointed prime minister. He also demanded a floor test in Parliament, following which Sirisena suspended Parliament on October 28 till November 16. Wickremasinghe's United National Party handed over a motion of no confidence against new Prime Minister Rajapaksa. Senior UNP member Lakshman Kiriella said that Secretary General of Parliament was informed of the motion.
Since the suspension, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya came under pressure from political parties to defy Sirisena and reconvene the 225-member assmebly.
The suspension was seen as a move to help Sirisena's prime ministerial nominee Mahinda Rajapaksa to cobble out his parliamentary majority.
The Rajapaksa-Sirisena combine has 96 MPs in the 225-member assembly, which is 17 short of the 113 required working majority.
But, with defection of at least nine legislators from Wickremesinghe's UNP and from the main Tamil party, TNA, Rajapaksha claims that he is just eight seats short of majority.
According to parliamentary officials, it was up to the parliamentary party leaders to agree if a floor test should be included in the agenda when the House is reconvened.
Foreign governments, rights groups, the United Nations have urged Sirisena to summon Parliament immediately and end the crisis.
Thousands of Sri Lankans also protested in Colombo last week demanding Sirisena immediately convene Parliament.
