A month of crisis

Today marks one month since President Maithripala Sirisena appointed MP Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister, removing MP Ranil Wickremesinghe and plunging the country into a constitutional crisis that is set to drag on this week. Despite numerous setbacks and humiliations in Parliament, President Sirisena has refused to set right his wrongs.   

The chain of events that were sparked on 26 October have left many Sri Lankans feeling angry, frustrated, and bewildered. The prompt proroguing of Parliament, the changing of reconvening dates, the disgraceful effort to bribe MPs to crossover, and the reconvening of Parliament after the Supreme Court stayed the Gazette dissolving Parliament, as well as the subsequent disgraceful behaviour within the well of the House, have all been minutely covered. So, too, were the two votes on the No Confidence Motion, the vote after MP Rajapaksa made a statement to the House, and the walkout by his supporters when it was evident that they would not be able to show majority during a vote to appoint the Selection Committee on Friday.   

President Sirisena, throughout the last month, has stubbornly refused to accept the No Confidence Motion, despite it being held a second time on his request. Despite being unable to prove majority in Parliament multiple times, and in clear contravention to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya stating he does not recognise a Prime Minister, Cabinet or Government, President Sirisena continues to hold Cabinet meetings and make decisions whose legality is in question. 

On top of travel advisories and diplomatic pressure, last week saw the downgrading of Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating by international rating agency Moody’s, which is expected to put pressure on Sri Lanka’s debt repayment in 2019. The rupee, which had already depreciated over 10% before the Constitutional crisis, hit a new low at the end of last week, and is not expected to fare much better in the coming days. 

All eyes are now turned towards the Supreme Court. On Friday, all 122 MPs – comprising members of the UNF, JVP and TNA – filed an application for a Writ of Quo Warranto against MP Rajapaksa. The Quo Warranto Writ challenges MP Rajapaksa to prove on what authority he holds office as Prime Minister, after the Legislature voted twice to defeat him on 14 and 16 November. If he is unable to do so, he may have to rescind the title of “Prime Minister” still being attributed to him by supporters. The application may be taken up as early as this week, and the decision could shift political winds ahead of the decision on the dissolution of Parliament, expected on 6 or 7 December. 

 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, delivering a stirring speech in Parliament on Friday, insisted that all three key actors, namely President Sirisena, MP Wickremesinghe, and MP Rajapaksa, have failed to discharge the people’s mandate. He also pointed out that whatever the outcome of the constitutional crisis, the end result would be both Parliamentary and Presidential Elections, and contended that the only decision that remained to be made is to decide which should come first. Early elections are the unfortunate result of public representatives failing to stay true to their mandates, and attempting to bend the law to suite their own ends. Democracy cannot be upheld unless elected representatives are committed to uphold the Constitution.