TNA push Parliament to end crisis

AFP: Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party on Sunday urged the President to reconvene Parliament and end a worsening political crisis, as the minority ethnic community emerge as kingmakers in the power struggle. 

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) could tip the balance should Parliament be recalled this week to decide between two rivals claiming the lawful right to head Government. 

The nation of 21 million has been gripped by constitutional turmoil since President Maithripala Sirisena sacked his former ally, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and his Cabinet on 26 October. 

Wickremesinghe says his dismissal was illegal as he commands a greater majority in Parliament than Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former strongman President controversially installed in his place. 

The TNA has already said it would vote against Rajapaksa in a No-Confidence Motion when Parliament reconvenes. 

Both rivals have been marshalling numbers behind the scenes, worrying civil society groups who protested Sunday in the capital Colombo against the horse-trading. 

TNA legislator Dharmalingam Sithadthan said the President had called the Tamil legislators to a meeting Wednesday – the same day Parliament was expected to reconvene. 

“We have asked the President to immediately call Parliament and end this crisis,” TNA legislator Dharmalingam Sithadthan told AFP. 

Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) risks losing legislators to Rajapaksa’s camp as the days drag by. 

Some members of his party have alleged they were offered portfolios and huge amounts of money to switch allegiances. 

Seven MPs have already switched sides and been granted portfolios under Rajapaksa’s new administration. 

The Sunday Times of Colombo newspaper described the sacking of the Prime Minister as “sheer political expediency” and outside the law. 

The State-run Sunday Observer, now controlled by Rajapaksa loyalists, defended the change of Government but acknowledged the crisis should be resolved. 

According to latest counts, Wickremesinghe now has 102 MPs from the 225-seat assembly after another defection while Rajapaksa and Sirisena also have 102. 

Most of the remaining 21 MPs – including the TNA – are set to oppose Rajapaksa, observers said. 

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) party, which has seven lawmakers, said its members had also rejected offers to join the Sirisena-Rajapaksa camp. 

Meanwhile, thousands of supporters continue to occupy Wickremesinghe’s Official Residence saying they would resist any move by Sirisena to evict their Prime Minister.