Sri Lanka’s disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns

Colombo, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka’s disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has stepped down from his post, signalling an end to a weeks-long political crisis that has kept the Indian Ocean nation without a functional government.

Rajapaksa signed a letter of resignation in front of supporters and journalists at his private residence in the country’s capital, Colombo, on Saturday.

In a subsequent statement, the 73-year-old said he was bowing out to allow President Maithripala Sirisena to “form a new government”.

Sri Lanka has been in crisis since October when the president fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe amid a bitter power struggle and replaced him with Rajapaksa, a popular former president who is accused of corruption and wartime atrocities.  

The feud put the country on the path towards a government shutdown with parliament unable to pass spending for 2019 as legislators clashed on the chamber floor, throwing chairs, books, and chilli paste, amid the dispute over who should remain the country’s prime minister.

Wickremesinghe, who refused to step down, insisted his sacking was illegal, and his party, which has a majority in the 225-member House, passed two no-confidence motions against Rajapaksa.

But Sirisena ruled out ever reappointing Wickremesinghe and tried to dissolve parliament in a bid to hold new elections.

That attempt was thwarted by the Supreme Court, which on Thursday said the president’s moves to sack the House was unconstitutional.

New opposition 

“I have no intention of remaining as prime minister without holding a general election,” Rajapaksa said in his statement, saying he had only taken on the role with the aim of forming an interim government and holding long delayed provincial elections, as well as new general elections. 

“The change of government that the people expected has now had to be put off. But the people will definitely get the change they desire. No one can prevent that,” he said.

Rajapaksa said his coalition will now act as the opposition to Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) in parliament and lobby the government to hold provincial elections.

The opposition will also prevent the passage of a draft new constitution, he said, claiming the charter abolishes the executive powers of the president altogether and proposes devolving power to nine federal provinces. 

He went on to lambast the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a coalition of 14 legislators who represent Sri Lanka’s ethnic Tamil minority, for backing the UNP in the parliament votes against him.

The Tamil coalition also voted for a resolution declaring the parliament’s support for Wickremesinghe’s reinstatement on Wednesday.

“The TNA now holds the remote control in parliament,” said Rajapaksa, who ended a 26-year-long war against Tamil separatists in 2009, but is feared by many members of the minority over alleged war crimes committed against them during the final phase of the bloody war.

Sagala Ratnayaka, UNP MP, welcomed the latest development in a Twitter post, saying he was “happy that the fight for democracy yielded results not only for us, but also for generations to come”.  

I am not sure how MR @PresRajapaksa can resign from a position that he does not legally hold. The legislature does not recognize him nor does the judiciary. Nevertheless, we’re happy that the fight democracy have yielded results not only for us, but also for generations to come.

— Sagala Ratnayaka (@SagalaRatnayaka) December 15, 2018

Shreen Saroor, a human rights activist, said parliament must now immediately turn to passing a state budget for 2019. 

“The crisis has disrupted some essential public services. For example, hospitals in the north and east are running out of supplies,” she said. “There has to be a vote on accounts, even if its an interim budget.” 

The protracted crisis has also hit the country’s economy, she said, noting the country’s currency – the Sri Lankan rupee – fell to a record low of 177.20 to the dollar in November, while the travel industry, which makes up about five percent of Sri Lanka’s $87bn economy, has also reported cancellations by both business and leisure visitors.

The UNP said on Friday that Wickremesinghe will be reappointed as prime minister next week, but Sirisena is yet to comment on the claim. 

Rathindra Kuruwita reported from Colombo. Zaheena Rasheed reported and wrote from Doha.